Ambush A BAE Systems sub in the suburbs
15 May 2006
The 235 tonne forward section of Ambush, the second of the Astute class submarines being built by BAE Systems in Barrow in Furness, North West England took to the road last Thursday, 11 May.
The massive steel construction, which is the height of a 4-storey house, was carried on a 48-wheeled Scheurerle transporter on the quarter of a mile journey from the Barrow sites new assembly facility to the Devonshire Dock Hall where the hull of the 7,800 tonne first of class Astute nuclear-powered attack submarine is already complete.
The forward end construction will join 7 other sections of Ambush already being fitted out in the Devonshire Dock Hall - the largest shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe. Covering an area of 25,000 square metres, the hall is some 51 metres high.
Astute-class submarines will be the most advanced and powerful the Royal Navy has ever operated and will play a key role in the UKs defences for decades to come. They form part of a substantial modernisation programme, as outlined in the Governments Defence Industrial Strategy, that will enhance the capability of the UKs Royal Navy through its emphasis on fewer but more capable platforms.
The project is one of the most complex engineering challenges in the UK, involving the production of over 7,000 design drawings, 10,000 separate design and engineering requirements and the installation of 23,000 pipes. Each boat has a sonar suite which has the processing power of 200,000 laptop computers.
Once deployed, Astute class submarines are designed not to require refuelling throughout their service life over 25 years and can patrol for 90 days, remaining undetected thousands of miles from home and hundreds of metres underwater.
The pressure hull is a 97 metre long cylinder which, when submerged, must withstand pressure equivalent to 400 family saloon cars weighing down on every square metre of surface area.
Since a revised programme for the construction of the Astute class submarines was agreed with the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems has met or exceeded every production milestone.
The first milestone for 2006 bringing on line the switchboards which deliver electrical power to the submarines complex operational systems was achieved last month some 18 days ahead of schedule.
The first Astute-class submarine is due to be launched in Summer 2007, and will be handed over to the UK Royal Navy in August 2008.
About BAE SYSTEMS
BAE Systems is the premier transatlantic defence and aerospace company delivering a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, information technology solutions and customer support services. With more than 100,000 employees worldwide, BAE Systems sales exceeded GB 15.4 billion (US$28 billion) in 2005.
For further information, please contact:
John Neilson, Director of Media Relations, BAE Systems plc
Tel: +44 (0) 1252 384795 (office) or +44(0) 7802 337704 (mobile)
john.neilson@baesystems.com
Lisa Hillary-Tee, BAE Systems
Tel: +44 (0) 1252-38 4934
Mob: +44 (0) 7801-718 994
lisa.hillary-tee@baesystems.com
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