Contracts signed for multi-billion subs deal

Contracts worth a total of £4 billion, which would see Rolls-Royce supply nuclear reactors for a new fleet of submarines for the UK and Australia, have been signed.

Earlier this year, it was announced that Rolls-Royce’s Raynesway site in Derby would provide the power for the new vessels as part of the AUKUS agreement.

Recently, contracts were signed with Rolls-Royce, BAE Systems and Babcock, which will mean UK businesses will be behind the design and manufacture of the submarines, known as SSN-AUKUS.

The contracts will progress the programme through the design, prototyping and purchase of main long lead components for the first submarines, allowing construction to commence in the coming years.

The aim is to deliver the first UK submarines into service in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-Class vessels, and the first Australian submarines will follow in the early 2040s.

Construction of the UK’s submarines will take place principally in Barrow-in-Furness, while Australia will work over the next decade to build up its submarine industrial base and will build its submarines in Australia with Rolls-Royce supplying the nuclear reactors for all UK and Australian submarines.

To accommodate the work, Rolls-Royce is looking to double the size of its Raynesway site and create 1,200 new jobs.

In a statement, the Ministry of Defence said: “Alongside the design development and long-lead procurement, infrastructure at the submarine shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness and the nuclear reactor manufacturing site in Raynesway, Derby, will be developed and expanded where needed to meet the requirement of the future submarine build programme.

“They 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.”