Royal Navy’s Newest Astute-Class Submarine Reaches Key Milestone
At the beginning of last week, the Royal Navy’s newest Astute-class submarine, HMS Agamemnon, submerged for the first time at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. During this three-day process, known as a “trim dive,” the submarine underwent a series of tests. These tests included adjusting the submarine’s internal weight balance, checking for water leaks, and verifying the functionality of some sensors and electronic systems. Statements from BAE Systems and the Royal Navy indicated that HMS Agamemnon completed this activity safely and successfully.
Named after a mythological ancient Greek king, HMS Agamemnon is the sixth of seven Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSN) being built for the Royal Navy. The first five submarines of the class, HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious, and Anson, are currently in active service at His Majesty’s Clyde Naval Base on the west coast of Scotland. The final submarine of the project, HMS Achilles, is still under construction.
Built to replace the Trafalgar-class submarines, the Astute family are currently the largest, most advanced, and most powerful attack submarines in service with the Royal Navy. Each Astute-class submarine is 97 meters long and has a displacement of 7,400 tons. Equipped with Sonar 2076, an integrated passive/active search sonar package with hull and towed arrays for detecting enemy vessels, these advanced SSNs can carry both Tomahawk Land Attack Cruise Missiles (TLAM) and Spearfish heavy torpedoes. They can also circumnavigate the globe completely submerged and can produce their own oxygen and drinking water.
In addition to the UK’s Astute-class SSNs, four Dreadnought-class ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) are also being built to maintain the Continuous At-Sea Deterrent (CASD) nuclear posture. The Dreadnought-class will replace the existing Barrow-built Vanguard-class boats and will be the Royal Navy’s biggest, most powerful and technically advanced submarines when they begin to enter service in the early 2030s.