The Royal Navy's 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. HMS Splendid followed in 2004 due to defence cuts meaning a reduction in the RN SSN fleet. The rest of the class are scheduled to be out of service by the end of the first decade of the 21st century. The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the senior service of the British armed services, being the oldest of its three branches. ... USS Los Angeles A submarine is a specialized watercraft that can operate underwater. ...

All can now fire Tomahawk missiles in addition to their original armaments of torpedoes, mines and anti-ship missiles.

General characteristics

• Builder: Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd
• Displacement: 4400 tons standard; 4900 tons submerged
• Length: 83 m
• Beam: 9.8 m
• Draught: 8.5 m
• Complement: 13 officers, 103 ratings
• Armament: 5 tubes capable of firing:
  • Spearfish torpedoes
  • Tigerfish torpedoes
  • RN Sub Harpoon missiles
  • Tomahawk missiles
• Sensors:
  • sonar (bow, flank, active intercept, and towed arrays)
  • periscopes (attack and search)
  • collision avoidance radar

Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd (VSEL), based at Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. ... The Spearfish torpedo is the heavy Acoustic homing torpedo used by the submarines of the Royal Navy. ... The Mk24-2 Tigerfish torpedo is a heavy Acoustic homing torpedo used by the Royal Navy for several years. ... 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. ...