Eighteen years after committing to renewing the UK’s nuclear deterrent, the keel was laid on HMS Dreadnought as the country’s new weapon reached a milestone.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer performed the honors as work started on the backbone of the first of four third-generation ballistic missile submarine in Barrow, nearly 10 years since the first steel was cut.
Displacing more than 17,000 tons, the length of 14 buses and with a crew of around 130, the Royal Navy said the HMS Dreadnought will be the most-advanced boats of their kind in service anywhere. They will include features like ‘adaptive’ lighting to simulate day and night on board. The boats are expected to have a lifespan of more than 30 years.
Building the Dreadnought class is a national endeavor, with some 30,000 people involved in the project from design through to delivery, with the construction phase of the four submarines – HMS Valiant, Warspite and King George VI follow the first in class – expected to take 20 years.
The boats themselves are being built in 16 ‘units’ which, when ready are grouped into three ‘mega units’ and moved to the Devonshire Dock Hall for assembly; the first ‘mega block’ of Dreadnought was delivered in the autumn of 2023.
Dreadnought is due to begin its deterrent patrols next decade as the existing V-boats (the oldest, Vanguard, is already 33 years old, the youngest, Vengeance, 27) are phased out.