In response to a Parliamentary Written Question, the Ministry of Defence has shed light on the status of the decommissioning of the country’s nuclear submarines.
On June 12, 2023, Kevan Jones, Labour MP for North Durham, submitted a written question to the Secretary of State for Defence seeking details on how many decommissioned nuclear submarines were dismantled in each of the last five calendar years.
James Cartlidge, the Minister of State for the Ministry of Defence, responded to the inquiry, stating that there has been good progress in the dismantling process, particularly at the Rosyth site.
He stated that the first stage of dismantling, which includes the removal of all Low-Level radioactive waste, has been completed for four submarines: Swiftsure, Resolution, Revenge, and Repulse.
Cartlidge was quoted saying, “Good progress continues to be made with dismantling decommissioned submarines in Rosyth. The first stage of dismantling, including the removal of all Low-Level radioactive Waste, has been completed on four platforms, Swiftsure, Resolution, Revenge, and Repulse.”
He also highlighted that Swiftsure is slated to be the first submarine to be fully dismantled, with the process expected to be concluded by the end of 2026.
As of June 1, 2023, there are 22 decommissioned submarines awaiting disposal.
This information was disclosed as part of a Parliamentary Written Question and offers critical insight into the UK’s ongoing efforts to securely and responsibly handle its decommissioned nuclear submarines.
Why is Swiftsure the first surely Dreadnought which was decommissioned more than 40 years ago.
I’m guessing Dreadnought, the Valliants and the Churchills will be total pigs to strip and dismantle; maybe Swiftsure is being used to pipe-clean the process.
At the rate they are going, the half-life of Plutonium will be exceeded and they will be inert before the dismantling is complete…
Just as an aside, Dreadnought has been decommissioned and awaiting disposal over twice as long as she was in commission (17years – 43 years). Can’t really say the MOD haven’t had long enough time to sort things!
I was based up in Rosyth late 80ts and one of the decommissioned boats may of been Churchill was alongside in the Bason awaiting disposal when I left there in 91 she was still there untouched
When Vanguard comes up for decon is it even being talked about refitting to be a conventional missile carrier? The US are doing it. Could be refitted to be autonomous too.
That’s probably highly unlikely, as she is already 30 yo since first commissioning. Despite her re-fuelling, not everything gets replaced/renewed. She will simply be worn out, and should go straight to disposal once she eventually de-commissions.
Vanguard has sat alongside the pier for over half of her life. And has a new reactor.
And you know sweet foxtrot alpha about submarines pal! Your point being….
Bloody well said mate.
No she hasn’t had a new Reactor fitted, that just isn’t possible. She has had a new core fitted (refuelling) and a lot of remedial work done on her primary and secondary cooling systems which was due to a material fault. That amount of work took far longer than normal but a lot of that was due to measures taken during Lockdown which really slowed things down.
.
Muppet!
The US SSGNs are refits to boats that had plenty of life left in them when they were reconfigured, not end of life boats.
Doesn’t really answer the question. Hardware gets extensions to original usage all the time. Including Vanguard.
The answer is no, the cost would be far to prohibitive considering how tight the current budget is. Considering how long the refit on Vanguard took unless the missile tubes could simply be dropped in and some software upgrades installed there is not a hope of major working taking place to extend Vanguard out to 50 years.
The pressure hull has a finite lifespan. Would you be happy to descend in a tin to the bottom of the sea if the tin had been subject to 30+ years of metal fatigue and galvanic corrosion?
Keyword you missed, ‘autonomous’.
Key point you missed fella, don’t go somewhere you have no idea about. Generally saves you looking like a complete wombat!
You should probably take your own advice first. Hilarious how many muppets just open their gob without a clue. What a prick.
I respect Deep 32 for his first hand knowledge and related experience.
None of which was offered. Like respecting a fart in an elevator.
Ah I see you are a teenager, ok that explains everything!
Perhaps its you that should take a look in the mirror! 17000 ton autonomous SM – really, am just guessing your knowledge on this very subject comes from reading/looking at pictures on the internet? Just a guess mind.
Oh wow, the big prick says look in a mirror, What deep understanding on show. Sounds like most of what you do is guessing.
Hi troll boy, ta for the very informative reply, but might suggest you stick with your Booty BRs (apologies to any Royals), only they seem to be more your level. Just saying.
https://www.navylookout.com/manta-the-royal-navy-gets-its-first-extra-large-autonomous-submarine/
This is MANTA, the 1st RN XLUUV. Still being developed, and someway from a 17,000 Tonne autonomous SSN.
Oh dear sad troll getting desperate!
Clue is in his username mate….he does have more than a clue when it comes to submarines, having spent much of his working life serving on them. 🙄
Oh dear wrong poster to gob off to about submarine stuff! Muppet!
😂👍
“Crush Depth” is the limit, crewed or not.
They would reach crush depth way before descending to the bottom of much of the seas.
Why do they need to be at the bottom of the seas. They aren’t hunter killers. Missile platform.
Er, they may need to go deep, and it’s pretty common knowledge they are armed and equipped also as hunter killers! You know so little yet waffle some guff! Oh dear how sad never mind!
Not the brightest are you. I was actually replying to Ian’s comment about the dangers of descending to the bottom of the Sea, which most of us know they don’t due to the enormous pressures, neither do the hunter killers. You took it out of context.
It will not happen, the U.K. just doesn’t have the spare resources to do so and to be honest we have no need for a full on SSGN boat. The 4 Ohio’s are a bit of a dead end that came into being due to a set of unique circumstances. Due to the conditions of the START Treaties which reduced the numbers of deployable warheads the US decommissioned the 1st 4 Ohio boats which still had a lot of life in them. So to boost the TLAM conventional force they were converted to SSGN each with 154 cruise missiles onboard.… Read more »
Just think what one SSGN with 160+ LRASM onboard would do in the Taiwan straight to a Chinese invasion force. It would be game over.
A vanguard ssgn would be a great conventional deterrence. The ability to rain down hundreds of tomahawk or LRASM type weapons is a very really requirement and could be a game changer for UK armed forces.
Except we couldn’t even afford to fill it with 40/50 tomahawks plus outfit all the t26 vls.
IRL for UK sovereign purposes the weight of Cruise Missile firepower will be from T31 and T26 VLS.
Exactly why would be no point converting the four missle subs at huge cost
Have you got a single clue about Nuclear subs and how they work ? Well I do and what powers them. There is absolutely zero chance of extending any Vanguard class boats to serve as an SSGN. As it is the timescale for Dreadnought to replace the Vanguards is tight, it has some slippage time built in, but that doesn’t leave much core life left. Which means it is total waste of time and money for just a few years service, I WILL SAY THIS AGAIN THERE ARE NO SPARE PWR2 CORES. Yes more TLAM fire power is needed and… Read more »
I think the answer was none.
😂😂
‘How many nuclear submarines have been decommissioned in each of the last five calendar years?’
‘N…cough!’
‘’Pardon?’
‘No…cough!’
‘Pardon? i can’t make that out’
‘Non…cough! Lovely weather today. Do you still play golf?
Why has the UK been so slow to deal with the decommissioned subs, its never made sense to me?
Because it’s much cheaper and easier to leave it for the next government to deal with.
We haven’t got a nuclear waste repository. We need one. Then we can dismantle subs and chuck all the nasty stuff underground for thousands of years.
A site at Eskmeals was looked at. Trouble is, this is a small heavily populated island. Easier for the US and the repository at the vast NTS. Any locals here will have a fit.
If they want to do it this is the way to go.
https://www.science.org/content/article/finland-built-tomb-store-nuclear-waste-can-it-survive-100000-years
Thanks mate, I’d never heard of that.
The yanks spent a few Billion on preparing a mountain depository in Nevada for spent fuel rods out of the way of the population Then stopped and sealed up the entrance so we’re not the only ones twiddling thumbs Daniele God knows how the Russians and China are dispossing of their now defunct reactors
For a long time the Russian ‘sealed them up’ and dumped them at sea.
https://www.popularmechanics.com/military/navy-ships/a34976195/russias-nuclear-submarine-graveyard/
Captain Birdseye must of noticed when the Cod glowed in the dark SB
“Steady” Lol. He means glacially slow.
Yeah, any young 18 year old apprentices will have jobs for life just decommissioning the existing subs, never mind Vanguards and Astute in the future.
OT–the BBC has reported the discovery of the submarine HMS Triumph in the Aegean Sea at a depth of 200+m. Triumph succumbed to a mine, after sinking at least 15 Axis ships. All hatches closed, no one escaped. Hopefully it remains a war grave for the 64 member crew, at least until the scum-bag, slimeball ChiCom salvage vessels arrive and desecrate the site.
Like to see what happens to the “salvagers” robbing the war graves of HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse?
Absolutely, was rather hoping for an OT&E trial of updated Spearfish, a nicely spread pattern. 🤔 No joy to date.
Be a bit harder for them to do that in the Med compared to South East Asia I would think.
🤞
Oh it’s steady all right…
22 and counting, this is at staggering cost for future generations to pay for.
That’s not great progress. At this rate it will take another forty years and by that time the pressure hulls will be in dire straits Maybe they can dump the nuclear waste off the coast of Argentina?!
So the real answer is that no boats have been fully decommissioned…
This is amazing considering how long these boats have been out of service.
Some seriously deluded people post fairy tales on UKdj.. Some fools believe scrap our Nukes and the money saved will be spent on conventional forces . Not a chance every single penny of the savings would be clawed back by the treasury within 3 years and never seen again .
Did u read the article? It’s about scrapping the decommissioned boats that have been sitting in rosyth and devonport for decades not about scrapping current nuclear boats.
Quite true…..
HMS queen Elizabeth Il, iloveyou, f35B lightning II, Long live the King charles lll no, queen, HM queen Elizabeth Il, hello united kingdom,