Financial News
- 10 December 2012, 19:10
HMS Audacious: New Super Submarine For Navy
A £1.2bn contract has been agreed to build a new submarine for the Royal Navy.
The deal, awarded by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to BAE Systems, will safeguard 3,000 jobs at the company's Barrow shipyard in Cumbria.
The submarine, to be called HMS Audacious, will be the fourth of seven Astute Class boats being built for the Navy. It will join Astute, Ambush and Artful in the growing fleet.
The first two submarines, Astute and Ambush, are currently undergoing sea trials to test their systems ahead of full service. These trials assess their ability to dive to deep depths and fire missiles.
A further £1.5bn has also been committed to three submarines yet to be built, which will complete the fleet. It will allow vital preliminary work to start.
Commenting on the announcement, Rear Admiral Simon Lister, the MoD's director of submarines, said: "The Astute Class will become the jewel in the crown of the Royal Navy's Submarine Service and boasts much greater firepower and more advanced sonar and communications than ever before.
"These submarines represent a huge leap forward in technology and will operate all over the world with the Royal Navy.
"These boats provide the optimum capability a submarine can offer in land strike, strategic intelligence gathering, anti-submarine and surface ship warfare, and protection of the strategic deterrent."
The Astute class submarines are powered by nuclear energy which means they never need to refuel. In theory they can stay underwater forever, only re-surfacing to take on supplies for the crew.
They are fitted with the most advanced sonar systems available and are quieter than older submarines. The sonar system has the processing power of 2,000 laptops and can spot and track ships 3,000 miles away.
At around 320ft (97m) from bow to stern they are about 50% bigger than the Royal Navy's current Trafalgar Class submarines. They carry on board a mix of Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk land-attack missiles.
The submarines will also make their own oxygen from seawater.
The money is coming from a pre-allocated budget. In the Autumn Statement the Chancellor said the MoD could have more time to spend about £1bn that it has yet to use from this year's budget.
It was thought that the Treasury might request the money be returned, but George Osborne has allowed the department a period of flexibility.
what do you think?
Vladtheinhaler .
We all have to suffer the Tory "economics", but another one thousand five hundred million , can be spent on a warship. What !!!!!!
john
The gobsmiths are running the country as if we still had an empire, has the Navy still got more Admirals than ships?
Danny Cooper
Yes. By far
jimmyjedi1979
we need this sub to secure our vested interests in the middle east.
Michael Hawkins
The deal............................will safeguard 3,000 jobs at the company's Barrow shipyard in Cumbria. What are the Tories doing
happymike CHESTER
It would be cheaper to give every worker at Barrow shipyard a million pound each would cost us less.
Michael Hawkins
happymike Nice to socialist economics at its best Maths is obviously not your strong point your suggestion would cost an additional 1.8 billion
happymike CHESTER
You for got crews pay and running costs .Good socialist economics.
Michael Hawkins
You for got crews pay and running costs .Good socialist economics. Thank you for pointing out the loss of thess jobs as well and of course the industries supplying the barrow shipyard you could be looking at giving 6-7000 a million each I agree your figures could be 4-5 billion out
happymike CHESTER
A phallic symbol for a country that is going bankrupt and has only got a little one.
Michael Hawkins
Happymike what ever floats your boat
Chris Price
2:45am on 10/12/2012
Thats nice. What about building a couple of aircraft carriers?
blue side
11:17am on 10/12/2012
They are and training sailors to run around on deck pretending to be aircraft cause they will probably not have any ready and they sold the Harriers to the US. This assumes Cameron does not sell the carriers off to India
bjnk
11:12pm on 10/12/2012
blue side Its surprising how the USA could see the potential in the Harriers and we could not. I would like to see carriers for nostalga reasons and they are usefull in certain areas. But sea warfare if it were to happen has changed,a carrier needs lots of manpower and costs,which this government is not prepared to accept. The other thing of course is surface ships are much more vunrable than subs.