AUDACIOUS Joins ASTUTE, AMBUSH and ARTFUL
The Royal Navy’s fourth ASTUTE-class submarine was formally named HMS AUDACIOUS on 16 December at a ceremony at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness.
The 97m, 7,400t attack submarine joins her class sisters ASTUTE, AMBUSH and ARTFUL already launched. ANSON, AGAMEMNON and the as yet unnamed seventh boat remain in the shipyard in varying stages of construction. Adm. Sir Philip Jones, First Sea Lord, commented that the ASTUTE-class is, “already contributing to operations and are well placed to protect both the QUEEN ELIZABETH-class aircraft carriers and the Continuous At Sea Deterrent.”
BAE Systems submarine business employs around 8,000 people, including those working on the ASTUTE-class. Thousands more work in the submarine supply chain. The company is also the industrial lead for the DREADNOUGHT-class, Britain’s next generation nuclear deterrent.
