Royal Navy launches drive to speed up submarine maintenance

The Royal Navy has begun a major effort to accelerate submarine maintenance, with senior leadership warning that throughput must improve rapidly to meet future operational demands.

First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins visited HM Naval Base Clyde on 20 January, days after the formal launch of the Submarine Maintenance Recovery Plan, a new framework intended to bring together previously fragmented efforts across the submarine enterprise.

The plan was officially introduced on 14 January and is designed to improve the pace and productivity of submarine maintenance, particularly at Clyde, the operational home of the UK Submarine Service and the centre for routine upkeep of the fleet. During his visit, General Jenkins was accompanied by Chief of Defence Nuclear Madeline McTernan, where he was briefed on plans to rapidly expand engineering capacity through new temporary facilities.

“Submarine maintenance throughput needs to drastically improve,” he said. “We want to put a radical engine for change in the middle of our enterprise, to recharge and refocus our priorities and get us ready for the warfighting footing we need.” He added that a new approach to productivity is now being put in place across the system. “I challenged the Submarine Directorate, in partnership with the Submarine Delivery Agency, to give me a new methodology for driving maintenance productivity up. Now it’s here, I will get weekly updates from the team, and we are planning for productivity to improve dramatically over the next four years.”

The recovery plan brings together existing initiatives under a single structure for the first time, with clear priorities and dedicated resources. Previous efforts, while numerous, were often limited in scope due to the size and complexity of the submarine enterprise. One of the first tangible outcomes is the creation of a deployable engineering workshop at HM Naval Base Clyde. Using containerised Defence workshops, the facility will deliver around 90 square metres of additional engineering space within weeks, enabling vital work to be carried out more quickly.

Further temporary facilities are also planned, and an additional off-site location has already been acquired and is being adapted to support longer-term requirements. Submarine maintenance activity is spread across four principal locations. Routine maintenance is conducted at Clyde, while deep maintenance periods, involving major upgrades and life extension work, are carried out at HM Naval Base Devonport. Engineering planning is provided by the Submarine Delivery Agency in Bristol, with Navy Command in Portsmouth retaining overall command focus through the Submarine Directorate.