Britain has started work on a new fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines that are likely to enter service towards the middle of the century, days after signing a new defence accord with Australia and the US to help Canberra acquire similar vessels.
Ben Wallace, UK defence secretary, announced the award of the contracts to BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce, worth £85m each, for the initial design work on a next generation of hunter-killer submarines that will ultimately replace the seven Astute-class boats, which are still being delivered to the Royal Navy.
The announcement came days after the UK and US signed a pact to work with Australia to help it design and build its own fleet of nuclear-powered attack submarines. It remains unclear what type of design Canberra will choose but it is likely be based either on the Astute design or the US navy’s equivalent, the Virginia-class.