In a recent report, experts discuss the necessity for the Royal Navy to expand and modernise its submarine fleet to maintain its strategic edge.
The report, ‘A More Lethal Royal Navy: Sharpening Britain’s Naval Power‘ by William Freer and Dr. Emma Salisbury, outlines the current state of the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet and provides key recommendations to enhance its capabilities.
Nuclear attack submarines (SSNs) are designed for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare, and carrying cruise missiles to attack land targets. Modern SSNs are known for their stealth, running quietly and remaining submerged for extended periods without surfacing.
The report highlights the strategic importance of regular submarine patrols: “Regular submarine patrols contribute considerably to deterrence, as an adversary fleet cannot be sure of its ability to operate unchallenged within a patrolled area.” This was exemplified during the Falklands War when the entire Argentine fleet returned to port following the sinking of the light cruiser General Belgrano by HMS Conqueror, an SSN.
The Royal Navy’s SSN fleet currently consists of five Astute class submarines, with two more expected, and one Trafalgar class submarine, which has been upgraded to extend its service life through to 2025.
Both classes are equipped with Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles and Spearfish heavy torpedoes. The report notes, “The Tomahawks will be upgraded to the Block V version over the next couple of years to extend their striking range and provide more dynamic targeting capabilities.”
The Astute class will be replaced by a new class of SSNs under the AUKUS programme, a collaborative effort with Australia and the United States. The exact number of SSN-AUKUS submarines for the Royal Navy has not been finalised, with suggestions ranging from seven to twelve.
Recommendations
Additional Dreadnought Class Submarine
The report recommends procuring at least one additional Dreadnought class submarine to mitigate potential delays in the AUKUS programme. “This fifth vessel can be operated as a conventionally armed nuclear-powered attack submarine (SSGN) designed to carry a large payload of strike missiles,” the report states. This would enhance the Royal Navy’s conventionally armed submarine force and provide a backup for the SSBN fleet.
Increase SSN-AUKUS Fleet
The report urges the Royal Navy to order twelve SSN-AUKUS submarines. “Order 12 SSN-AUKUS boats and ensure their design has significant land-attack and anti-ship missile capability, including vertical launching systems (VLS),” it recommends. The integration of VLS would amplify the firepower of British submarines, enabling them to launch a greater number of strikes and potentially serve as a platform for future Hypersonic Cruise Missiles (HCMs).
Ensuring Capability Continuity
The report stresses the importance of avoiding a capability gap between the retirement of the Astute class and the introduction of the SSN-AUKUS class. “Care should be taken to ensure that there is no capability gap between the retirement of the Astute class and the entry into service of the AUKUS class,” it advises.
Collaboration and Workforce Maintenance
To support the submarine industry and maintain a skilled workforce, the report highlights the need to keep the industry active. “This would keep the submarine industry’s workforce active, abating the risk of delays to the AUKUS programme from the need to rebuild the workforce,” it explains.
I think time could have been saved by just writing one article on this study entitled “more of everything, just don’t ask how to pay for it or crew it”…
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Written by a think tank with links to quite a few private companies ( amongst others) eg BAE, LM & Babcock etc. Just a big fantasy fleets exercise without the necessary cash.
If they left it until Friday all these ‘requests’ might well get a response of ‘fat chance’.
A new report will probably be available showing the ‘likely ways of saving money in defence’.
To be fair, they would get the same response from the Tories given their record over the last 14 years
I wonder what the unit cost of a 5th Dreadnaught would be.
Having the ability to launch 100+ cruise missiles is certainly a capability worth having.
A fifth Dreadnought would cost a lot and it wouldn’t carry 100+ missiles either.
And how much for a Vanguard class sub.?
While it is starkly obvious we need a bigger fleet just to restore the RN to basic peacetime levels & plans are a foot for that glacially happening, new funding to accomplish it is just hopes & promises or by cuts elsewhere in the MOD budget. Bit like a penniless tramp having to sell his coat to buy a pair of trousers. We currently support c41 operations with the RN(British Warships & Auxilliaries 2024). With just 15 escorts reducing to 13 before the first new build arrives & c 6 SSNs it’s hard to see the RN other than dreadfully… Read more »
With you Frank, the surface fleet could do with an incremental increase and some uparming. Stuff is likely coming with all the incoming MK41s and the new builds. The defence purchasing departments should be quite busy right now. I really think as do many others that the whole UK GBAD environment needs to be looked at as a top priority too. You never know when things could get suddenly ugly. Actual ports, bases, critical facilities all need to have some deployable protection as does the rest of the country. Can you imagine if in any European conflict that any of… Read more »
Never going to happen, with or without cruise. A theoretical option is for the SSBNs to have eight tubes for ICBM s each with five warheads and four tubes for sixteen cruise with nuclear tip warheads. It would give us options below full blown nuclear attack and may even br more of a detterent.
You don’t really want cruise missiles armed with nuclear warheads….as if you do have them any conventional attack with cruise missiles could be taken as a counterforce attack and get you an instant strategic response….
The wisdom of such a deployment may be debatable, but SLCM-N is currently slated to reach IOC w/ USN by 34/35. 🤔😳 Current projection is ChiCom deployment of 1500 nukes by 2035. DPRK and Iran? The mission requirement will be the capability to sandblast a significant geographical area.
Later blocks of Virginia class and SSN-A (if UK participates) are natural candidates to host weaps. Uncertain re feasibility/desirability of thusly equipping surface fleets.
Same would be said of any strike aircraft fornation given their potential to deliver n-bombs.
IF they are known to be nuclear I don’t really see a problem but as I say I can’t see any of it happening.🙄
interestingly it was found that getting a nuclear tipped cruise missile would actually cost more that keeping up our present ballistic missiles 58 missiles and 190 warheads…apparently it would cost around 18billion at 2016 prices to develop a nuclear cruise missile.
Fair enough. Apparently the U.S. removed their nuclear tip from srvice but kept the warheads? Mind you, with Biden or Trump. Argh.
Geoff you would potentially compromising the CASD boat by making it multi role. Its main ‘thing’ is to be possibly anywhere. If you’re going down that road then take the nuclear deterrent and either give it back to the Air Force or put it in silos somewhere. It would be a lot cheaper.
Maybe. As I say just a thought. I certainly don’t think a boat should be nuclear/conventional. Too dangerous.
Nuclear armed cruise missiles have been out of the plan for decades. We don’t want to risk a launch of a cruise missile being misinterpreted as a potential nuclear attack.
I think it’s just sunk in, and Andys’ point as well. If we had them ANY cruise could be seen to be nuclear if ANY cruise we had was launched. DOH !😚
Surely a second batch of the Astute class would be more economically viable than the mooted Dreadnought missile carrier, modifications of that sound hideously expensive for a bespoke solution we already have. Insert it into the shipbuilding strategy over 5-10 years we would get 3-4 boats out of the class and with the Aukus subs (whatever they are) still a minimum of 10 years away it’s the best avenue to take.
As the Aussies found out the Astute production run has moved on and no new Astutes will be produced. The priority is Dreadnought, which means getting the remaining Astutes completed. The design team are working on AUKUS boats.
Being slightly flippant here, but what about the army and airforce… don’t they want to be bigger too?! Hope the new government will be paying attention to all the rumblings for defence increases here.
Interesting that one of the main roles didn’t make the list of tasks. Spying. Fleet boats (used to anyway) spend a lot of time in places that they had accidentally strolled into. If you have a boat tasked with this its kind of occupied for a while. Its too late to order more A boats but maybe worth getting a few German ‘steaming bats’ to be forward based for that kind of stuff freeing up the SSN’s to do the other stuff. Still wouldn’t happen any time soon even if there was an interest but with limited numbers its an… Read more »
Isn’t this a repeat of an article from last week?