UK Astute submarine finally ready for operations
The first Astute-class submarine has been handed over to the Royal Navy for operations almost three years after it was commissioned.
BAE Systems Maritime announced on 18 July that HMS Astute and the second Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN), HMS Ambush, were delivered to the Royal Navy during a ceremony at the company’s submarine manufacturing facility in Barrow-in-Furness where the sixth boat – Agamemnon – was also laid down.
The company said that work on Agamemnon will now transition from preparation and fabrication of parts to construction.
Astute was due to be ready for operations in 2012 but the programme
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
More from Naval Warfare
-
![Canada begins work on heavy polar icebreaker to protect its high-Arctic sovereignty]()
Canada begins work on heavy polar icebreaker to protect its high-Arctic sovereignty
The vessel, made under the auspices of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, will be the first heavy icebreaker built in Canada for over six decades.
-
![Fincantieri begins steel-cutting on FREMM EVO frigates for the Italian Navy]()
Fincantieri begins steel-cutting on FREMM EVO frigates for the Italian Navy
The two new frigates are expected to enter service by 2030.
-
![BAE Systems to provide missile tubes to Block VI Virginia-class submarines]()
BAE Systems to provide missile tubes to Block VI Virginia-class submarines
The construction of the Block V submarines is still ongoing, with none of the ten boats yet commissioned.
-
![Desan Shipyard to build Malaysia’s largest ever coast guard vessel]()
Desan Shipyard to build Malaysia’s largest ever coast guard vessel
The vessel should join the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency in 2017.
-
![US Navy tests Aegis combat system for hypersonic missile defence]()
US Navy tests Aegis combat system for hypersonic missile defence
The Arleigh Burke destroyer USS Pinckney undertook the tests against a simulated SM-6 missile.
-
![Royal Navy destroyer completes UAV live-fire exercise before heading to the Indo-Pacific]()
Royal Navy destroyer completes UAV live-fire exercise before heading to the Indo-Pacific
HMS Dauntless ran a full UAV test to mimic potential real-world threats.
