British Defence Secretary Michael Fallon attended the steel cutting ceremony for the first Successor submarine yesterday at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness site.
The event marked the official start of the production of four nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines which will replace Royal Navy’s current Vanguard-class submarines.
Fallon earlier revealed that £1.3 billion of funding was awarded to BAE Systems to start the ‘Delivery Phase 1’ of the Successor program. This phase will involve structural steel work for the ‘auxiliary machine space’ of the first submarine which contains switchboards and control panels for the reactor.
According to the Ministry of Defence, 200 British businesses will contribute to the Successor submarine program.
The new submarines will be 152.9 meters long, displace 17,200 tonnes and will be operated by a crew of 130. The submarines will have bunks for both male and female sailors.