The keel of the first of the UK Royal Navy’s new Dreadnought-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) has been laid at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.
The future HMS Dreadnought will be the first of four Dreadnought-class SSBNs that will succeed the Royal Navy’s current fleet of four Vanguard-class SSBNs.
The ceremonial event on 20 March 2025 was attended by UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Defence John Healey and marks a significant milestone in the programme to maintain the UK’s Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD).
The Dreadnought class will begin to enter service in the early 2030s. The first steel was cut for the programme in October 2016.
Displacing more than 17,000 tonnes and with a length of 153.6 m, the Dreadnaught-class SSBNs will have a crew of 130 submariners and be armed with Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Trident D5 submarine-launched ballistic missiles. According to the Royal Navy, they will be the most advanced submarines of their kind in service anywhere, featuring – for the first time – ‘adaptive’ lighting to simulate day and night on board.
The submarines are being built in 16 ‘units’ that, when ready, are grouped into three ‘mega units’ and moved to the Devonshire Dock Hall at Barrow for assembly. The first Dreadnought ‘mega block’ was delivered in the autumn of 2023.
“Laying the keel for the first of class, HMS Dreadnought, is an incredibly proud moment for everyone across the company, Defence Nuclear Enterprise and Royal Navy,” Steve Timms, managing director of BAE Systems’ Submarines business, was quoted as saying in a company press release. “It comes as the boat’s last major unit prepares to make its way into the Devonshire Dock Hall for final integration, demonstrating the progress made across the programme to date.”
Admiral Sir Ben Key, the UK’s First Sea Lord and Chief of Naval Staff, stated, “Since April 1969 Royal Navy submariners have been proud to deliver the Continuous at Sea Deterrent, maintaining at least one nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarine on patrol, ready to respond to the most extreme threats to the UK. Whilst the Vanguard class of submarines continues to deliver CASD today, the Royal Navy is greatly looking forward to operating highly sophisticated and advanced Dreadnought-class submarines. This keel-laying ceremony is considered the ‘birth’ of a vessel and I congratulate all those involved across the Alliance for reaching this important milestone in the life of HMS Dreadnought and look forward to bringing this exciting and highly capable submarine into service.”
The Dreadnought Alliance is a partnership between BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the UK Ministry of Defence’s Submarine Delivery Agency that manages the delivery of the UK’s next nuclear deterrent platform.
“As part of the government’s Nuclear Skills Plan initiative, the Submarines workforce, centred in Barrow, has grown by more than 3,000 since 2023 to 14,700,” BAE Systems noted. “That growth is set to continue as both the Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS programmes develop. The overall Dreadnought programme is expected to support in the region of 30,000 jobs across the UK over the life of the programme.”
BAE Systems estimates that it will spend in the region of GBP 7.5 billion (EUR 9 billion) with 1,500 UK suppliers over the course of the Dreadnaught programme.
