AUKUS Submarine Program Enters Detailed Design Phase
The British Ministry of Defense announced on October 1 that the SSN-AUKUS program developing nuclear-powered attack submarines under the trilateral AUKUS program has entered its Detailed Design and Long Leads (D2L2) Phase, following the awarding of contracts totaling £4 billion ($4.8 billion).
In the announcement, the ministry said that the contracts awarded to BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce would “progress the programme through the design, prototyping and purchase of main long lead components for the first UK submarines, allowing construction to commence in the coming years and ensure the stability and resilience of our domestic supply chain.”
In a separate announcement, BAE Systems stated that it had received £3.95bn in funding through the contracts. BAE Systems says that the funding will cover development work to 2028, enabling the company to move into the detailed design phase of the programme and begin to procure long-lead items. The award will also fund “significant infrastructure investment” at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, investment in its supply chain and recruitment of more than 5,000 people.
Babcock was awarded a five-year contract with the Ministry of Defence to provide input into the detailed design of SSN-AUKUS. In its announcement of the contract signing, Babcock said its contract scope includes “applying its extensive experience of complex submarine in-service support and maintenance”, building it into the SSN-AUKUS design in order to maximize the submarines’ availability throughout its service life.
Babcock CEO David Lockwood said:
“Babcock plays a critical role in submarine programmes, supporting submarine availability in the UK and internationally. The importance of applying our extensive knowledge and long-standing experience is being recognised through this contract award to ensure that the new Class delivers the operational availability through life that the Royal Navy requires. In addition, we look forward to providing ongoing support to help deliver capability for the Royal Australian Navy under the AUKUS agreement.”
Announced in 2021, SSN-AUKUS is the headlining effort of the Australia-UK-US AUKUS trilateral security pact. Current planning for SSN-AUKUS expects the first UK submarines to enter service in the late 2030s to replace the current Astute-class submarines, and the first Australian submarines will follow in the early 2040s. Rolls-Royce will be supplying the nuclear reactors powering both nations’ submarines.