Infrastructure upgrades at the Royal Navy’s submarine base on the Clyde must be delivered at pace or the UK risks failing its AUKUS obligations, the House of Commons Defence Committee has warned in a report published today that reveals none of the five Astute-class submarines in service completed an operational deployment in the first half of 2024.
The report paints a stark picture of the pressure on the Clyde facility, noting that some submarines had been “waiting for maintenance for more than two years because of a shortage of facilities at HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport, as well as the prioritisation of the Vanguard-class submarines which provide the UK’s continuous at-sea deterrence.” The committee also notes reports that patrol durations for the Vanguard-class have lengthened as a consequence, with concern expressed about the negative effect on crew welfare of spending increasingly longer periods at sea.
Babcock warned the committee that while there had inevitably been a great deal of focus on the design and build stages of SSN-AUKUS, “history tells us that 75% of whole-life-cycle costs go in the operate and maintain phase” and that the success of Pillar 1 would depend on sustainment elements including through-life infrastructure, workforce and supply chain, all of which held “significant lead times and operational risk if deprioritised.”
Major investment has been pledged to address the availability crisis, with multi-billion-pound upgrades underway at both submarine bases. The government has committed £4.4 billion of investment into Devonport, and a £750 million contract was signed with Babcock in 2023 to construct new facilities for the Royal Navy’s attack submarines including SSN-AUKUS. The committee visited both bases during the course of its inquiry.
Despite the investment committed, the committee is unambiguous that the pace of delivery must improve, recommending that “with submarine availability critically low, and against a backdrop of deepening concern about the readiness of the Royal Navy, the Government must deliver infrastructure improvements at HMNB Devonport and HMNB Clyde at pace to relieve pressure on the fleet” and warning that “failure to do so will risk the UK’s ability to meet its obligations under AUKUS whilst continuing to maintain security in the Euro-Atlantic.”
The sustainment findings form part of the committee’s wider AUKUS report, which found that political leadership of the programme had faded and called on the Prime Minister to take a more visible role in driving it forward, warning that failure to meet AUKUS commitments would have severe implications both for UK defence and security and for the UK’s standing with its trilateral partners.
Looks like decades of cuts and salami cutting has created the nightmare scenario for any government, where many big ticket projects are now required to funded at the same time in order for our armed forces to continue to perform. Talk of frigate number cuts for the Type 26 is just another example of Politicians not having a ‘Scobby Do’ when it comes to protecting this country.
Ask why senior leadership in the RN let it get this bad over so many years. I feel they are responsible.
Given its strategic importance – it does seem massively underfunded.
For a start, surely all the sub pens should be undercover as a minimum both for security and to mitigate weather conditions
Several Dry docks would also come in handy (although there are some in Portsmouth)
Last but not least – accommodation needs to be absolutely 5* – the last thing you need for people going without for 3-6 months is for them to be expected to live in basic accommodation, the least we can do is give them amazing accommodations
It will take a lot of money to bring this base unto spec I believe
Just a thought but If they just launched some rubber boats at night In the Channel, then maybe they will be given better houses and lots of money ? 🤔🤔🤔.
After all, Labour does seem to treat visitors rather well.
The current Government are only the latest to fail in so many respects. They have only been in place for 2 years, up to 3 to go. They say a ship can take a long tome to turn around, lets hope 4 or even 5 years is enough. Otherwise we’ll simply get another bunch, either those that have already failed, or those that have never been in power and will simply fail as well because they likewise have no idea.
As a whole the accommodation on the Clyde is pretty good, better than other bases in the RN.