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Further Reading

Astute SSN Program History

In June 1991, approval to proceed with a programme of studies at an estimated cost of £6m (91/92 prices) to define the Batch 2 Trafalgar Class Boat (now known as the Astute Class). This program of studies led to the issue of an invitation to tender for the design and build of an initial batch of 3 Astute Class SSNs and a further approval of £2m(92/93 prices) for contractor and DRA support to MOD during the tendering exercise in 1994.

In July 1994, as a result of concerns over the overall affordability of the program, Minister (Defence Procurement) and the Treasury approved a further £23.5m (at 93/94 prices) for risk reduction studies to be undertaken in parallel with the formal bid phase of the project. To maintain an effective competition, contracts for risk reduction work were awarded to both bidders, GEC Marconi and Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Limited. Invitations to tender for the first 3 submarines of the class were issued in July 1994 with competitive bids received in June 1995.

GEC-Marconi (now BAE Systems (Submarine Solutions)) was identified as MoD's preferred bidder in December 1995. The successful outcome of these studies led to EAC approval (Main Gate) in March 1997 to place a contract for the design, build and initial support of 3 Astute Class submarines with GEC Marconi. Following protracted negotiations, using the policy of No Acceptable Price No Contract (NAPNOC), a contract was placed with GEC-Marconi as the Prime Contractor and announced on 17 March 1997. The contract put in place the first whole boat, Prime Contract for UK nuclear powered submarines. The Prime Contract with GEC Marconi is for the design, build, and initial support of three submarines. The support task will be undertaken by the Prime Contractor for a total of eight submarine years (4.5 calendar years). The Prime Contract requires an integrated Tactical Weapons System with a performance at least as good as the Swiftsure & Trafalgar (S&T) Update Final Phase. As a risk reduction measure, the former MOD contracts for the Final Phase of the S&T Update have been novated into the Prime Contract for Astute.

The £2 billion Astute Prime Contract is for three next generation submarines to replace the Swiftsure Class. The Prime Contract is the first in the UK for a capital warship. This 'total systems' approach has made the incentives for industry much stronger and gives BAE Systems much broader boundaries for innovative design. There have been opportunities to give even greater focus to through-life support in line with the MoD's Smart Acquisition Policy. As a company, BAE Systems has considerable experience and expertise in providing on-going support to its customers.

In the centenary year of the RN's Submarine Service, HMS Astute, the first of a new class of attack submarines, was laid down in January 2000. The Astute class will be the Royal Navy's largest and most capable ever class of attack submarine, true multi-role platforms equipped with the Tomahawk missile. Astute was laid down at a ceremony attended by Baroness Symons, the Minister for Defence Procurement, and Admiral Sir Nigel Essenhigh, the First Sea Lord. The event was almost 100 years to the day after the start of work at Barrow on the HMS/m TB 1, popularly known in service as Holland 1, after her American designer, John Holland. However, just about the only points in common between the two vessels are their construction in Barrow and their ability to submerge.

Modular build techniques are being used on Astute and are bringing benefits in terms of build time and cost. Construction is carried out in the Devonshire Dock Hall at Barrow, where all major pressure hull and modular elements are brought together for installation and integration. Work actually started on building Astute's massive pressure hull long before the system designs were complete. We have demonstrated concurrent engineering at its best in order to manage risk. The design is progressively released to production, so the possibility of major (and expensive) change further down the line is minimised.

Astute was to be launched in 2004, and was to enter service 18 months later following commissioning work and sea trials. Two other boats of this class - Ambush and Artful - will also be built at Barrow; work is due to start on Ambush in late 2001. The MOD is considering plans for a second batch of up to three more of the class. About 5,000 people will be employed at the shipyard and other main sub-contractors and in the supply chain at the peak of production work.

As at 31 March 2000, the Astute project was progressing satisfactorily and was on target to achieve a complete critical systems design review in May 2001 and complete whole boat design freeze review in January 2003. At that time it was anticipated that an order for a further 3 Astute class submarines will be placed in late 2002. This order will be subject to approval by the EAC, Ministers and Treasury. Estimated cost is £1.7bn.

Following BAE Systems' disclosure during 2002 of significant delay and projected cost overrun on the Astute program, the Department entered into discussions with the company about arrangements to address those difficulties. An Agreement between the Department and BAE Systems was reached in February 2003 which reduced risk (e.g. by separating the design, development, build and acceptance of the First of Class from the production of the second and third submarines), and placed new incentives on the company to perform. The Department agreed to increase its cash funding for Astute by around £430 million, against an increased contribution by the company of £250 million. The Department's contribution is primarily in recognition of the greater than expected difficulty in applying Computer Aided Design techniques to UK submarines. An amendment to the Astute contract to enact the Agreement was signed in December 2003 with boat 1 continuing on a revised Target Cost Incentive Fee arrangement with Boats 2 and 3 pending pricing.

In 2004 the Blair govenment's defense white paper stated that "We judge in the light of the reduced threat that an attack submarine fleet of 8 SSNs will be sufficient to meet the full range of tasks. This force size will be achieved when HMS SUPERB and TRAFALGAR pay-off as planned by December 2008. For the future, the introduction of the ASTUTE class submarines will represent a significant addition to the delivery of effects based warfare. Their increased weapons payload coupled with our investment in the latest generation of Tomahawk land attack missiles will give each submarine even greater flexible precision firepower for land attack." the Trafalgars had a planned life expectancy of 25 years.

Following the submission of a Review Note in 2007, a further £580m increase was agreed noting that while the program remained on schedule the design had matured requiring more materials. This was coupled with increased inflationary costs and some programme throughput assumptions at the Barrow site not being borne out. All the program's anchor milestones have continued to be met and new project management disciplines have been implemented to achieve better planning and performance monitoring. This has included agreeing a Target Cost Incentive Fee with a maximum price for each of Boats 2 and 3.

In May 2007 the MoD placed a £200 million contract with British industry for the construction of a new nuclear powered attack submarine, to be named HMS Audacious. The 7,800 tonne boat, which will be equipped with the latest cruise missiles, is the fourth of the Astute class, the largest and most powerful attack submarines ever built in Britain for the Royal Navy. Assembly of the submarine is expected to start later this year. Lord Drayson, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support said: "Audacious will join the three other submarines of the Astute class already under construction at the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria. "Today's announcement demonstrates our commitment to the attack submarine programme, as set out in the Defence Industrial Strategy. It also demonstrates our commitment to the Royal Navy, which needs these submarines to fulfil its duties around the globe. It demonstrates the best of British technology and our determination to develop and transform the UK Submarine industry over the coming years." This initial contract placed with BAE Systems Submarine Solutions ran until the end of March 2008 and covered initial build work on the submarine. The final contract placed will cover all aspects of the construction and completion of the submarine; it was under negotiation and due for finalisation late in 2008. It came on top of orders for long-lead items that have already been placed with industry both to prepare the way for the construction of AUDACIOUS and to support the industrial infrastructure.

As of 2008 the Current Forecast in-service date [ISD] was May 2009, versus an Approved ISD at Main Gate of June 2005. At that time the Procurement Cost for the first three units was forecast at £3,806 M (outturn prices) [US$6,275 B at 2009 conversion rates ], versus an Approved Cost at Main Gate of £2,578 M, for a variation of £1,228 M. Sources of the cost increases include Increase in overall BAE Systems base costs (shipyard and sub contracts) reflecting a reestimate as well as cost of delay (+£571m); Increase in risk provision owing to technical complexity (+£152m); and changed cost reflecting Astute Agreement of February 2003 (+£52m).

The program suffered a number of problems, which have caused delays of 47 months and cost overruns of £1,228 million as of 2008. The program suffered from unplanned cost growth in various areas, including increases of £164 million and £68 million in 2006-07 for materials and labour respectively. The contract negotiations were lengthy and delayed the in-service date by nine months at the beginning of the programme. The contract was let under the philosophy of transferring as much risk as possible to industry, including full responsibility for both design and construction. Previously the Department had produced the design and then contracted with industry to deliver it. Given GEC Marconi's (and subsequently BAE Systems') lack of ship-building experience at the prime contractor level at that point, the Department were over-optimistic in their assessment of the contractor's capacity to deliver.

The contractor encountered difficulties with a computer aided design (CAD) tool which had not previously been used for ship-building, and the anticipated and contracted schedule and cost benefits did not materialise. The time delay between the construction of the Vanguard-class submarines and the beginning of the Astute program meant that key skills and submarine-building experience had been lost. The awarding of other ship-building work to the Barrow shipyard did not prove sufficient to maintain those skills specific to the design and construction of submarines.

Marking the "laying of the keel" for the fourth Astute boat, the Audacious, 24 March 2009, John Hutton, the Defense Secretary noted, with some understatement: "Submarines are extremely demanding engineering projects, and the Astute class is no exception." From a strategic point of view, many in the defense community would argue that the proposed fleet of seven Astute-class attack subs is the minimum effective force. Funding for the 5th-7th Astute class submarines was signed off on by the Treasury in 2004-05 after a hard fought battle by the MoD.

On 25 Mar 2010 BAE Systems today welcomed news it had been given the go-ahead to begin constructing the fifth Astute class submarine and start the procurement process for a sixth vessel. It followed a statement made by UK Secretary of State for Defence, Bob Ainsworth, in which he underlined the Government's continuing support for the Astute program. At that time the first of class Astute attack submarine was undertaking sea trials, the second (Ambush) was due to be launched later in 2010, and the third and fourth (Artful and Audacious) were both advanced in their construction. The Secretary of State said: "The Government has made a contractual commitment to proceed with the initial build of Astute Boat 5 and long lead procurement activities associated with Astute Boat 6, at a total cost of over £300M. This commitment is necessary now to ensure a consistent workload for the UK's submarine building industry. "This investment will allow the timely delivery of the Astute class boats, which are the most advanced attack submarines ever ordered for the Royal Navy. Furthermore, since the same industrial skills, experience and capability are necessary to deliver the successor deterrent submarine programme, this investment will play a part in ensuring a smooth transition from the Astute programme to the successor deterrent."