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The Royal Navy’s next generation of nuclear-powered attack submarines will comprise a new SSN-A class of submarine which began a detailed design phase in 2023 when contracts totalling £4bn were awarded to BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce Submarines and Babcock International.
The SSN-A submarines will be the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy, combining world-leading sensors, design and weaponry in one vessel. It will be equipped for intelligence, surveillance, under-sea warfare and strike missions.
Decisions about how many submarines the UK requires will be made in the coming years, based on the strategic threat picture at the time.
SSN-A will be delivered as a joint build program constructed in Barrow-in-Furness, UK, and Adelaide, South Australia. US industry is to deliver a number of critical and specialised technologies.
Australian steel will be used to build Australia’s SSN-AUKUS submarines, subject to a comprehensive qualification process expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.
The steel is also being qualified to both the British and US standards.
The UK will commence construction of its first SSN-AUKUS in Barrow-in-Furness UK, as early as the late 2020s. As the home of British submarine building, most of these jobs will be concentrated in Barrow-in-Furness with further roles created elsewhere along the supply chain, including in Derby.The UK intends to deliver its first SSN-A to the UK Royal Navy in the late 2030s.
On 17 December 2024 the SDA said "The last 12 months have also seen significant impetus being generated as a result of the AUKUS announcements with emphasis now on maturing the SSN-A design in readiness for production to commence. Strong relations have been established with our sister organisation, the Australian Submarine Agency, with the arrival of the first Australian secondees to the SDA re-enforcing the strategic nature of the AUKUS trilateral agreement."
The ASA, BAE Systems and ASC Pty Ltd on 17th December 2024 signed a Tasking Statement, a contractual agreement that supports the joint development of build strategy, supply chain management plans and a workforce development strategy.
Integrated Project Teams are now working to oversee tasks such as nuclear stewardship, infrastructure functional requirements, business enablement and build preparation. Underpinning business functions, such nuclear safety and assurance, engineering and build operations have also been established.
On 27 December 2024 it was reported that "Large numbers of Australian workers will soon be embedded in the British submarine construction site run by BAE Systems at Barrow, UK. ‘Many will come from the Australian Submarine Corporation, where they’ve been working on Collins. They’ll deepen their expertise, very specifically on how to build a nuclear-powered submarine."
This massive multilateral undertaking will create thousands of jobs in the UK in the decades ahead, building on more than 60 years of British expertise designing, building and operating nuclear-powered submarines.
The UK and the Australian boats will incorporate technology from all three nations, including cutting edge US submarine technologies such as propulsion plant systems and components, a common vertical launch system and weapons.
The AUKUS partners will also develop a joint combat system as an expansion of the US-Australia combat system.
The combination of technology from all 3 partners will deliver a world-class submarine that meets long-term defence needs while bolstering trilateral industrial cooperation.
Australia will begin building its first SSN-A in Osborne, Adelaide South Australia, by the end of this decade. It will deliver the first Australian-built SSN-AUKUS to the Royal Australian Navy in the early 2040s.
As a trilateral endeavour, SSN-A provides maximum interoperability among AUKUS partners. It will elevate all 3 nations' industrial capacity to produce and sustain advanced and interoperable SSNs for decades to come. It will enhance the ability of our 3 nations to deter aggression and contribute to stability in the Indo-Pacific and globally.
AUKUS partners are committed to expanding the base of skilled submarine and shipbuilding workers in all three nations.
Beginning in 2023, Australian military and civilian personnel will embed with the U.S. Navy, the Royal Navy, and in the United States and United Kingdom submarine industrial bases to accelerate the training of Australian personnel and to gain the experience required to build and sustain nuclear powered submarines.
Australia will make a proportionate financial investment in the UK and US industrial bases.
Australia will also contribute $3 billion over the next four years to US and UK production lines. This targeted investment will directly support the additional capacity needed to enable delivery of Australia’s nuclear-powered submarines at the earliest opportunity.
Of the £4 billion, £3.95 billion was awarded to BAE Systems and will cover development work to 2028, “significant infrastructure investment” at Barrow in Furness, investment in its supply chain and the recruitment of more than 5,000 people.59
The main areas of work that need to come together to meet the timeframe include: development and refinement of the SSN-A design to be ready for build; development of an integrated build strategy, enhanced shipbuilding capability and trilateral supply chain; and agreement of a joint delivery model.
In the near term, AUKUS partners will identify specific opportunities for Australian industry to participate in the SSN supply chain.
On 16 December 2024, the ASA, BAE Systems Australia Submarines Pty Ltd and ASC SSN-AUKUS Pty Ltd agreed to work together to develop detailed plans, schedules and workforce initiatives for the Australian build program of the SSN-AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine.
Ministers also welcomed the wide range of initiatives to deliver a more resilient and prosperous trilateral submarine supply chain in the UK and Australia, particularly including the initiation of the UK-focused effort under the AUKUS Defence Industry Vendor Qualification program.
This will help ease pressure on the supply chains of the UK and the US, leverage the existing strengths of Australian suppliers and boost their capacity ahead of the commencement of Australia’s build program.
AUKUS partners will focus on key components where Australia has demonstrated industrial capability, such as pressure hull steel, valves, pumps, batteries, switchboards, lighting, additive manufacture.
This endeavour will boost prosperity across UK and showcase the prowess of British industry to our allies and partners.
BAE Systems on 13 March said, “The selection of the UK’s next generation submarine design is a significant development in that partnership and is a testament to the skills, commitment and ingenuity of everyone involved in both our Submarines business and the wider UK submarine enterprise.”
References:
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/submarine-delivery-agency-sda-annual-report-and-accounts-2023-to-2024
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/CBP-9843/CBP-9843.pdf
Editors’ picks for 2024: ‘Submarine agency chief: Australia’s SSNs will be bigger, better, faster’
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