Astute Class Submarine Programme Overview
The Astute class submarines are the UK’s most advanced ‘hunter-killer’ nuclear-powered attack submarines. The Royal Navy’s Astute submarine fleet is designed to be “the UK’s current attack submarines. They protect the UK’s nuclear deterrent from hostile activity and detection, whilst supporting global operations. They also contribute to protecting maritime task groups and providing global strategic intelligence and reconnaissance gathering.” They combine stealth, endurance and striking power to protect the UK’s nuclear deterrent and project power overseas.
Role: Nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN)
Builder: BAE Systems, Barrow-in-Furness
Entered Service: 2010 (HMS Astute)
Total Planned: 7 boats
Commissioned Boats: Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, Anson, Agamemnon
Astute Class submarine Audacious under construction at Barrow in Furness shipyard in Cumbria. Crown Copyright
Key Capabilities
Nuclear Propulsion: Powered by a Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor, enabling the submarine to remain submerged indefinitely, limited only by crew endurance and supplies.
Armament: Up to 38 weapons including Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes. Capable of precision strikes up to 1,000 miles inland.
Sensors: World-leading sonar suite reportedly capable of detecting ships across the Atlantic.
Crew: Approximately 98.
Displacement: Around 7,400 tonnes submerged.
Strategic Role
The Astute class submarines conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, protect the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD), and deliver long-range precision strike options for commanders. They are the bedrock of the UK’s global maritime presence and perform a role central to NATO operations in the North Atlantic.
Astute boats are also critical to the transition toward the UK’s next generation of submarines, the SSN-AUKUS class, combining British design and nuclear propulsion expertise with Australian and US collaboration.
Industrial and Economic Impact
The programme sustains thousands of jobs at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard and within the UK’s nuclear propulsion supply chain. This experience and skilled workforce are critical to the development of the Dreadnought-class SSBNs and future AUKUS submarines, ensuring continuous British expertise and industrial contribution in submarine design and nuclear propulsion.
Programme Status (as of August 2026)
Commissioned boats: HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, Anson, Agamemnon
- HMS Agamemnon was launched in October 2024 and commissioned in September 2025. She is currently in pre-sea trials, with operational handover expected by end of 2026.
Under construction: HMS Achilles (final boat of the class)
Successor Programme: SSN-AUKUS (development underway, service entry planned in the late 2030s)
