The Royal Navy’s latest Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSN) was officially named at BAE Systems’ site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, on 22 April 2024.
Agamemnon, named after the ancient Greek king, is the sixth of seven Astute-class SSNs being built for the Royal Navy. The boat is due to be launched later this year.
UK Minister for Defence Procurement James Cartlidge, who attended the event, stated, “HMS Agamemnon will play a vital role in defence of the nation, providing our armed forces with a competitive edge for decades to come. The Astute-class programme continues to support tens of thousands of jobs, with these submarines being a leading example of our commitment to investing in British sovereign capabilities.”
The Royal Navy’s Astute-class SSNs, five of which are currently in service, are 97 m long and displace 7,400 tonnes when dived. Their main weapons are Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAMs) and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes.
The first of class, HMS Astute, was launched in June 2007 and commissioned in August 2010, while the seventh and last Astute-class boat, to be named Agincourt, was laid down in May 2018.
The first Royal Navy vessel named Agamemnon was a 64-gun ship of the line that was commissioned in 1781. The ship was captained by the future Lord Nelson for three years from January 1793 and saw action in various campaigns including the Battle of Trafalgar in October 1805.
As well as its ongoing work on concluding the Astute-class programme, BAE Systems also has construction underway at Barrow on the first three Dreadnought-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) that will replace the Royal Navy’s current fleet of Vanguard-class SSBNs.
BAE Systems is also developing the SSN-AUKUS boat that the Royal Navy and Royal Australian Navy will operate as determined under the AUKUS trilateral security pact agreed between Australia, the UK and the United States in 2021.
