NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Astute class submarine

The Astute class submarines are the next generation nuclear Fleet submarines of the Royal Navy. When completed, the boats will set a new standard for the Royal Navy in terms of weapons load,improved communications facilities, stealth and comfort for the crew. Lord Drayson[Minister for Defence Equipment and Support] said, These submarines are hugely impressive vessels,and will provide the Royal Navy with a world class capability. The boats are being constructed by BAE Systems at Barrow-in-Furness. Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 573 Ã— 600 pixelsFull resolution (1164 Ã— 1218 pixel, file size: 828 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg)cropped version of Image:Astute2. ... BAE Systems plc is the worlds third largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... Image File history File links Naval_Ensign_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Trafalgar class submarines were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navys most advanced nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs). ... HMS Astute (S119) (possibly S20) is the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered Fleet submarines. ... HMS Ambush (S120) (possibly S21) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Artful (S121) (possibly S22) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Audacious (S122) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... This article is about the aircraft engine company. ... The Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor (PWR) series has powered British nuclear submarines since the Valiant class, commissioned in 1966. ... MAN AG (formerly called Maschinenfabrik Augsburg-NÃ¼rnberg AG, ISIN: DE0005937007) is a German transportation company. ... Paxman is a major brand of diesel engines. ... The Spearfish torpedo is the heavy Acoustic homing torpedo used by the submarines of the Royal Navy. ... A Harpoon missile on display at the USS Bowfin museum at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii The AGM-84 Harpoon is a US all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile system. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings. ... Polish wz. ... Thales Underwater Systems (TUS), formerly known as Thomson Marconi Sonar, is a defence manufacturer specialising in Sonar for Submarines and Surface Ships, as well as Airborne sonar systems, and communications masts and systems for Submarines. ... ATLAS Hydrographic is a hydrographic and oceanographic systems company, part of the ATLAS Elektronik group that is owned by ThyssenKrupp and EADS. ATLAS makes a variety of maritime equipment, its DESO 25 depth-finding echosounder will be used on the Royal Navys new Astute class submarines. ... Thales Optronics is a major unit of Thales Group and has three main subsidiaries: Thales Optronics Ltd. ... Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a crypto identification system designed for command and control. ... For other uses, see Submarine (disambiguation). ... This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... BAE Systems plc is the worlds third largest defence contractor,[3] the largest in Europe and a commercial aerospace manufacturer. ... Barrow-in-Furness is a town in Cumbria, England. ...

Background

As the Swiftsure-class submarines aged, the Royal Navy began to design their replacements. The original design called for large submarines designed for blue-water operations. Feasibility studies began in 1986 and were completed by 1989. A design contract was placed with Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd. (VSEL) in 1987, but with the end of the Cold War the project was cancelled in 1992. Emphasis switched to the production of a second batch of Trafalgar-class submarines (Batch 2 Trafalgar Class or B2TC). However the development was extremely slow and initial tenders received from VSEL in June 1995 were too expensive. The Royal Navys Swiftsure-class of nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs) is the older of the two classes of attack submarine in service with the RN. It originally contained six boats, but HMS Swiftsure was decommissioned in 1992 due to damage suffered to the pressure hull during trials. ... Blue Water was a code name for a British nuclear missile under development in the 1960s. ... Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL) is based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ... The Trafalgar class submarines were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navys most advanced nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs). ...

Meanwhile, the Royal Navy has changed its submarine-employment strategy from the Cold War emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to the concept of "Maritime Contributions to Joint Operations." The proposed replacement boats were redesigned; the primary mission of the Astute class became direct support of surface forces. This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Cold War (disambiguation). ...

Original plans were for seven boats of the Astute class to replace five Swiftsure-class submarines (Sovereign, Superb, Sceptre, Spartan, and Splendid) and the two oldest Trafalgar-class boats (Trafalgar and Turbulent). Plans, however, have been scaled back. The Swiftsure-class will be entirely decommissioned by 2010, when only the first of the Astute-class will be coming into service. HMS Trafalgar is to be decommissioned in 2008, followed by HMS Turbulent in 2011. The Royal Navys Swiftsure-class of nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs) is the older of the two classes of attack submarine in service with the RN. It originally contained six boats, but HMS Swiftsure was decommissioned in 1992 due to damage suffered to the pressure hull during trials. ... The HMS Sovereign (S108) is a nuclear powered submarine of the Swiftsure class decommisioned as of September 2006 from the Royal Navy. ... The HMS Superb (S109) is a nuclear powered submarine of the Swiftsure class serving in the Royal Navy. ... The fifth HMS Sceptre (S104) is a Swiftsure-class submarine built by Vickers in Barrow-in-Furness. ... HMS Spartan (S105) is a nuclear powered submarine of the Royal Navy Swiftsure class. ... The HMS Splendid (S106) was a nuclear powered submarine of the Swiftsure class. ... The Trafalgar class submarines were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navys most advanced nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs). ... {{Ship table| |Ship table fate=status |Ian McGhie, an instructor, both pleaded guilty at court-martial to contributing to the accident. ... HMS Turbulent (S87) is a Trafalgar-class submarine of the Royal Navy. ...

History

Contract award

On March 17, 1997, The Ministry of Defence announced that it was to place a £2 billion order for three submarines and further that they would be called the Astute class. On March 26, 1997, the contract was signed with GEC-Marconi Limited for the first three boats: Astute, Ambush and Artful. These names were last given to Amphion-class submarines that entered service towards the end of World War II. GEC would build the submarines at its VSEL subsidiary (now BAE Systems Submarines). is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... This articles deals with the British ministry, see defence minister for other countries. ... March 26 is the 85th day of the year (86th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... For the band, see 1997 (band). ... The General Electric Company plc (GEC) is a British company that was renamed Marconi plc on November 30, 1999 after its defence unit Marconi Electronic Systems was divested and sold to British Aerospace. ... HMS Astute (S119) (possibly S20) is the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered Fleet submarines. ... HMS Ambush (S120) (possibly S21) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Artful (S121) (possibly S22) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... HMS Alliance at Gosport submarine museum The Amphion class (also known as the A class and Acheron class) of diesel-electric submarines were ordered by the British Admiralty in 1943, upon the realisation that the new Pacific theatre of war following the attack on Pearl Harbor needed a new type... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki TÅjÅ Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL) is based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England. ... BAE Systems Submarines, until 2003 a unit within BAE Systems Marine, is responsible for the development and production of the Astute class submarine. ...

Astute-class boats will be powered by a Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor and fitted with a pump-jet propulsor. The PWR2 reactor was developed for Vanguard-class ballistic missile submarines. As a result Astute-class boats are about 30 per cent larger than previous British attack submarines, which were powered by smaller reactors. It will be the first Royal Navy submarine class to have a bunk for each member of the ship's company, ending the practice of 'hot bunking', whereby two sailors on opposite watches shared the same bunk. The Rolls-Royce pressurised water reactor (PWR) series has powered British nuclear submarines since the Valiant class, commissioned in 1966. ... Categories: Marine propulsion | Stub ... The Vanguard class are the Royal Navys current nuclear ballistic missile submarines (SSBN), each armed with up to 16 Trident II SLBMs. ...

Like all Royal Navy submarines, the fin of the Astute-class boats will be reinforced to allow surfacing through ice caps. They can fire Tomahawk cruise missiles from their launch tubes, including the new "tactical Tomahawk" currently under development. More than 39,000 acoustic tiles will mask the vessel's sonar signature, giving the Astute class a better stealth quality than any other submarine previously operated by the Royal Navy. The vessel is equipped with the advanced 2076 Sonar System, which is capable of identifying and tracking vessels across thousands of square miles of ocean. According to the MOD around 5,500 people are presently employed in the Astute building programme. This article is about the navy of the United Kingdom. ... A Tomahawk cruise missile The Tomahawk Land Attack Missile (TLAM) is a long-range, all-weather, subsonic cruise missile with stubby wings. ... Anechoic tiles are rubber or Sorbothane-like tiles containing thousands of tiny voids, applied to the outer hulls of military ships and submarines. ...

Delays

The Astute class was expected to be built roughly 20% quicker than earlier boats, with lower running costs and a much smaller ship’s company. However, the programme's progress has slipped by 4 years and has a predicted cost overrun of £1 billion,^[1] and required a U.S. engineering management team from General Dynamics Electric Boat to be brought in to resolve programme problems.^[2] The UK House of Commons Defence Committee, in July 2004, estimated the cost of Astute as £3,500 million compared to £2,600 million approved at Main Gate.^[3] Furthermore they noted that the predicted in-service date was January 2009 compared to the date of June 2005 approved at Main Gate. A £164 million cost increase was disclosed in a National Audit Office report in November 2006. However the NAO noted the in-service date was then ahead of schedule compared to the revised in-service date.^[4] The symbol Â£ represents the pound currency which Britain uses. ... Electric Boat, a division of General Dynamics Corporation, is a major contractor for submarine work for the United States Navy. ... Categories: United Kingdom-related stubs ...

BAE Systems has indicated that the Astute submarine project has maintained its improved performance, and first-of-class HMS Astute was launched by Camilla, The Duchess of Cornwall on 8 June 2007.^[5] Work on the second submarine, Ambush, is also proceeding well with major milestones such as the closure of the reactor compartment, demonstrating significant schedule advance compared with Astute. BAE and the MoD have made efforts to reduce costs and achieved significant cost-cutting and productivity gains.^[4] Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall (Camilla Rosemary; formerly Parker Bowles; nÃ©e Shand, born 17 July 1947) is the second wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, heir apparent to the thrones of the United Kingdom and the other 15 Commonwealth Realms. ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Further orders

As of 28 August 2006 BAE are currently negotiating for a contract to build another four Astute class submarines.^[6] The then Armed Forces Minister, Adam Ingram, has announced a further advance in the Astute Class submarine programme, with preparations for a further SSN underway. The Minister told MPs: is the 240th day of the year (241st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Astute class submarines are the next generation nuclear attack submarines of the Royal Navy. ... Adam Paterson Ingram (born in Glasgow on February 1, 1947) is a Scottish politician, and Member of Parliament for East Kilbride. ...

BAE Systems Submarines had ordered long-lead items for a fourth boat in August 2006. In March 2007, DefenseNews.com reported that a final price for boats 2 & 3 had been reached.^[7] The fourth boat was ordered on 21 May 2007 and it was announced that she is to be called Audacious.^[8] The Defence Industrial Strategy (DIS) is a United Kingdom government policy which was published as a white paper on 2005-12-15. ... is the 141st day of the year (142nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ...

Boats

HMS Leeds Castle, launched in 1943 as a corvette with pennant number K384, was redesignated a frigate in 1948 and given the new flag superior F as seen here. ... HMS Astute (S119) (possibly S20) is the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered Fleet submarines. ... is the 31st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 159th day of the year (160th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... HMS Ambush (S120) (possibly S21) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... is the 295th day of the year (296th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... HMS Artful (S121) (possibly S22) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ... is the 70th day of the year (71st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... HMS Audacious (S122) is a proposed Astute-class nuclear Fleet submarine of the Royal Navy. ...

General characteristics

Thales Underwater Systems (TUS), formerly known as Thomson Marconi Sonar, is a defence manufacturer specialising in Sonar for Submarines and Surface Ships, as well as Airborne sonar systems, and communications masts and systems for Submarines. ... ATLAS Hydrographic is a hydrographic and oceanographic systems company, part of the ATLAS Elektronik group that is owned by ThyssenKrupp and EADS. ATLAS makes a variety of maritime equipment, its DESO 25 depth-finding echosounder will be used on the Royal Navys new Astute class submarines. ... Thales Optronics is a major unit of Thales Group and has three main subsidiaries: Thales Optronics Ltd. ... Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... In telecommunications, identification, friend or foe (IFF) is a crypto identification system designed for command and control. ...

External links

References

^ Committee of Public Accounts (21 July 2004). Public Accounts - Forty-Third Report. The Stationery Office. Retrieved on 2007-03-24.
^ "US team to work on submarine order", news.bbc.co.uk, BBC News, 2003-04-08. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
^ Progress on key projects. Select Committee on Defence Sixth Report. www.parliament.uk (2004). Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
^ ^a ^b Boxell, James. "Royal Navy's weapons projects affected by delays and cost troubles", Financial Times, The Financial Times Limited, 2006-11-24, p. 2. Retrieved on 2007-01-03.
^ "New UK nuclear submarine launched", BBC News, June 08, 2007. Retrieved on 2007-06-15.
^ New nuclear sub is lifeline for Barrow. BBC News Online (2006-08-28). Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
^ U.K., BAE Agree on Nuclear Submarine Costs. DefenseNews.com (2007-03-05). Retrieved on 2007-03-09.
^ Royal Navy to Get New Attack Submarine. Royal Navy (2007-05-21). Retrieved on 2007-05-21.
^ New UK nuclear submarine launched. BBC (2007-06-08). Retrieved on 2007-06-08.

Categories: Submarine classes | Astute class submarines | United Kingdom defence procurement | Nuclear-powered ships This is a list of Royal Navy submarines, arranged chronologically. ... This is a list of submarine classes of the Royal Navy of the United Kingdom. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... The Rubis type is a class of first-generation nuclear attack submarines of the French Navy. ... The Barracuda class is a planned nuclear attack submarine class of the French Marine Nationale, designed by government shipbuilder DCN to replace the Rubis class submarines. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_Russia. ... The Victor class is the general NATO classification for a type of nuclear-powered submarine that was originally put into service by the Soviet Union around 1967. ... The Sierra class is the NATO reporting name for two types of nuclear-powered submarines that were originally constructed by the Soviet Union in the latter years of the Cold War. ... This article is about the submarine class with NATO reporting name Akula. For the submarine class with the Soviet name Akula, see Typhoon class submarine. ... Project 885 Graney (Yasen) is a new Russian attack submarine class, first vessel Severodvinsk will be commissioned about the year 2010. ... Image File history File links This is a lossless scalable vector image. ... Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Los Angeles class submarines The Los Angeles class is a class of nuclear-powered fast attack submarines (SSN) that forms the backbone of the United States submarine fleet, and is the most numerous class of nuclear powered submarine in the world. ... USS Seawolf (SSN-575) The Seawolf class attack submarine (SSN) was the intended successor to the Los Angeles class, ordered at the end of the Cold War in 1989. ... The Virginia class (or SSN-774 class) of attack submarines are the first U.S. subs to be designed for a broad spectrum of open-ocean and littoral missions around the world. ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom. ... The Royal Navys Swiftsure-class of nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs) is the older of the two classes of attack submarine in service with the RN. It originally contained six boats, but HMS Swiftsure was decommissioned in 1992 due to damage suffered to the pressure hull during trials. ... The Trafalgar class submarines were, until the introduction of the Astute class, the Royal Navys most advanced nuclear fleet submarines (SSNs). ... Image File history File links Flag_of_the_Peoples_Republic_of_China. ... The 4,500/5,500-ton Type 091 (US Department of Defense designation Han-class) was the first nuclear-powered submarine (SSN) class deployed by the Peoples Liberation Army Navy. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

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