HMS Anson, the fifth Astute class submarine, which BAE Systems has designed and built for the Royal Navy, has departed the company's shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and headed out to open sea for the first time.
After being guided through the shipyard's dock system and rounding the tip of Walney Island, HMS Anson began its maiden journey to His Majesty's Naval Base Clyde, home of the UK's Submarine Service. The submarine will undertake sea trials before joining HMS Astute, HMS Ambush, HMS Artful and HMS Audacious, in operational service with the Royal Navy.
“HMS Anson will play a vital role in defending the UK, providing a competitive edge for decades to come, and I am proud to see her make her journey up to her permanent home on the Clyde," Ben Wallace, Secretary of State for Defence, said.
“Supporting tens of thousands of jobs across the UK, our Astute-Class submarines are a leading example of our commitment to defence manufacturing, continuing to boost British industry for decades to come.”
HMS Anson, which was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy during a ceremony in Barrow last year, is 97 metres long and weighs 7,400-tonnes. The Astute class are equipped with 'world-leading' sensors, carry Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and can circumnavigate the globe submerged, producing their own oxygen and drinking water, BAE Systems says. The company has delivered the first four submarines in the Astute class and the sixth and seventh boats are at an advanced stage of construction in Barrow.
The Dreadnought class submarines, which will replace the Royal Navy's Vanguard class, carrying the UK's independent nuclear deterrent, are also being designed and built in Barrow-in-Furness with manufacturing work underway on the first three of four boats.
BAE Systems is also undertaking early design and concept work for the Royal Navy's next generation of submarines which will eventually replace the Astute class, referred to as SSN-Replacement (SSNR).