These contracts, which also include the British groups Rolls-Royce and Babcock, form part of the OCOs military alliance concluded between the United States, Australia, and the United Kingdom to confront Chinese ambitions in the Asia-Pacific region.
While unveiling this new move at the annual Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Defense Secretary Grant Shapps said: “These submarines will strengthen the Royal Navy with the aim of maintaining our strategic superiority under the seas.”
Last March, American, British and Australian leaders revealed the launch of this joint program for nuclear-powered submarines (but without nuclear weapons on board).
The British Prime Minister at the time praised “the most important multilateral defense agreement in generations.”
In a separate statement, BAE Systems said the future SSN-Ocus “will be the largest, most powerful and most advanced submarine” offered to the Royal Navy, and is intended to “replace (the) Astut model.”
The British defense group indicated that this government investment will include “employing more than five thousand people” at its site in Barrow-in-Furness in northern England.
The first models of this submarine are scheduled to be delivered at the end of the 2030s.
Nuclear-powered submarines are difficult to detect, can cross large distances for long periods of time, and are capable of carrying advanced cruise missiles.
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