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None of the five Astute-class submarines in service completed an operational deployment in the first half of 2024

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HMS AUDACIOUS ARRIVES AT CLYDE HOME HMS Audacious, the fourth of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class submarines, has arrived at her new home at HM Naval Base Clyde. The new submarine and her 98-strong crew arrived at the Naval Base in Argyll and Bute today (April 7), flying the White Ensign after sailing from BAE Systems in Barrow-in-Furness. Welcoming the vessel to her new home were members of the Submarine Flotilla – SUBFLOT – based at Clyde. “It is with great excitement that we welcome HMS Audacious to the Clyde, joining her three sister submarines,” said Commodore Jim Perks OBE, Head of the Submarine Service. “HMS Audacious represents an ever improving example of the world-leading Astute class submarine. She is right at the cutting-edge of technology, built here in the UK by our own people. She will provide the country with remarkable security at sea to protect our nation’s interests.” HMS Audacious will join sister-submarines HMS Astute, HMS Ambush and HMS Artful which are already in-service and operating from Faslane. A further three boats – named Anson, Agamemnon and Agincourt - are currently under construction at BAE in Barrow. The Astute-class vessels are among the most sophisticated submarines ever constructed for the RoyalNavy.

Infrastructure upgrades at the Royal Navy’s submarine base on the Clyde must be delivered at pace or the UK risks failing its AUKUS obligations, the House of Commons Defence Committee has warned in a report published today.

The report reveals that none of the five Astute-class submarines in service completed an operational deployment in the first half of 2024.

The report paints a stark picture of the pressure on the Clyde facility, noting that some submarines had been “waiting for maintenance for more than two years because of a shortage of facilities at HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport, as well as the prioritisation of the Vanguard-class submarines which provide the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrence.”

The committee also notes reports that patrol durations for the Vanguard-class have lengthened as a consequence, with concern expressed about the negative effect on crew welfare of spending increasingly longer periods at sea.

Babcock warned the committee that while there had inevitably been a great deal of focus on the design and build stages of SSN-AUKUS, “history tells us that 75% of whole-life-cycle costs go in the operate and maintain phase” and that the success of Pillar 1 would depend on sustainment elements including through-life infrastructure, workforce and supply chain, all of which held “significant lead times and operational risk if deprioritised.”

Major investment has been pledged to address the availability crisis, with multi-billion-pound upgrades underway at both submarine bases.

The government has committed £4.4 billion of investment into Devonport, and a £750 million contract was signed with Babcock in 2023 to construct new facilities for the Royal Navy’s attack submarines, including SSN-AUKUS. The committee visited both bases during the course of its inquiry.

Despite the investment committed, the committee is unambiguous that the pace of delivery must improve, recommending that “with submarine availability critically low, and against a backdrop of deepening concern about the readiness of the Royal Navy, the Government must deliver infrastructure improvements at HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde at pace to relieve pressure on the fleet” and warning that “failure to do so will risk the UK’s ability to meet its obligations under AUKUS whilst continuing to maintain security in the Euro-Atlantic.”

The sustainment findings form part of the committee’s wider AUKUS report, which found that political leadership of the programme had faded and called on the Prime Minister to take a more visible role in driving it forward, warning that failure to meet AUKUS commitments would have severe implications both for UK defence and security and for the UK’s standing with its trilateral partners.

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