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The Dreadnought Class Submarine Programme


William Blamey Managing Director,


BAE Systems Submarines


The UK has been protected 24 hours a day by a Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD) under what is known as Operation Relentless since April 1969 and the Dreadnought class will take over this responsibility from the early 2030s until well into the 2060s. At some 17,200 tonnes and 153m long, Dreadnought will be the biggest submarine ever to be built in the UK and to be operated by the Royal Navy.


The UK has been protected 24 hours a day by a Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD) under what is known as Operation Relentless since April 1969 and the Dreadnought class will take over this responsibility from the early 2030s until well into the 2060s.


At some 17,200 tonnes and 153m long, Dreadnought will be the biggest submarine ever to be built in the UK and to be operated by the Royal Navy.


The design and build of a nuclear‐powered deterrent submarine is generally considered to be one of the biggest engineering challenges known to man. Certainly in terms of component count and complexity of functional and spatial design, it is up there with the space shuttle in terms of challenge. Consider this… the submarine is powered by a nuclear pressurised water reactor, known as PWR3. This plant will be safer and easier to operate than its predecessors and reduce through‐life maintenance. Unlike a civil nuclear plant, where one tends to put space between the reactor and its operators, we put this reactor in close proximity of the ship's crew. The submarine design also needs to cater for a number of other hazards including many tonnes of rocket fuel, high explosives and propellants. In this environment, we introduce the submariner… So we need the ability to create fresh water and oxygen and to get rid of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and


Dreadnought Submarine above water


20


Society of Maritime Industries Annual Review 2017


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