Director Submarines Rear Admiral Andy Perks spoke at the Combined Naval Event in Farnborough to set out the Submarine Service’s role in the Royal Navy’s hybrid fleet plans, speaking in the service’s 125th anniversary year and reaffirming submarines as the UK’s principal underwater warfare capability for decades to come.
Perks was direct about the longevity of the commitment. “The Royal Navy remains fully committed to the submarine as its principal anti-submarine and underwater warfare capability until the 2060s at least.” Up to 12 new nuclear-powered attack submarines are planned for delivery from 2039, building on the current Astute class, and will operate alongside autonomous systems to deliver enhanced surveillance, protection, and strike capability.
Perks positioned the underwater domain as central rather than peripheral to the hybrid navy concept, arguing that the three strands of the Atlantic Fleet strategy converged in exactly the same integrated model the wider navy was pursuing. “The underwater battlespace will be the battle ground for the Atlantic Bastion element of the Hybrid Navy, set alongside Atlantic Shield providing above water missile and air defence and Atlantic Strike for the ability to deliver effect at range to our opponents. All of these are Hybrid by default and should be considered a model for future RN procurement.”
Atlantic Bastion is the Royal Navy’s programme to build a defensive sensor network in the waters around the UK using autonomous subsurface systems and layered sensors to protect the continuous at sea deterrent and critical national infrastructure. Atlantic Shield covers integrated air and missile defence, while Atlantic Strike is focused on conventional deterrence and long-range strike capability. Perks’ framing of all three as hybrid by default positions the submarine service as an early model for the integrated crewed and uncrewed approach the Navy is pursuing across the fleet.
He described the current moment as an exciting phase of development. “We are entering an exciting phase of the Royal Navy’s development, focussed on innovative solutions to deliver the missions demanded of us by the Nation.”
The Submarine Service marks its 125th anniversary this year, having operated continuously since 1901. The service has undergone several generational changes in that time, from diesel-electric boats to nuclear propulsion, and from conventional torpedoes to Trident ballistic missiles and Tomahawk cruise missile weapons. The integration of autonomous underwater systems alongside submarines represents the next significant evolution in how the service operates.
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As a Submariner i can’t help but wince when i hear the supposed importance of Submarines and these paper commitments. The service is on it’s knees and there is no sign of any improvement. It’s a graveyard in Faslane, broken boats and a mass exodus of skills leaving the service.
It might be a model is there were a decent % of deployable subs….
I would suggest one aspect of the Submarine Service it will be worth NOT carrying over to Atlantic Bastion.
It is also strange that the Navy figures sometimes slip into talking like the Hybrid Navy has already been delivered and proven.
In part it has been delivered , drones have essentially replaced MCM capabilities, they are now about to deploy on Maritime interdiction and fleet protection roles in the next few weeks. Trials are well under way for ASW to be augmented by drones, sea bed warfare is already dominated by drones as is under sea rescue. Only air warfare is drone free and that’s not likely to last long.
Just look at the force we are deploying to Hormuz, it’s all drones operating from a mothership and the only traditional manned component is an AAW destroyer.
Those aren’t at all on the scale of what is planned, however. The MCM stuff and seabed warfare predates the Hybrid Navy rhetoric by a decade, Beehive is nice due to its speed but I have yet to see anyone explaining what they will actually do, the Atlantic Bastion trials done so far are exactly that.
My concern is that the small steps taken so far are being represented as if we are already much of the way to a cohesive force, when we don’t even have a plan for how to get there yet.
I don’t know if you know anything about Task Force 59, but it’s worth reading up on if you haven’t. It was set up by the USN back in 2021 in Bahrain under 5th Fleet as their dedicated unmanned integration task force for the Gulf. They’ve basically been using USVs, UAVs and AI maritime awareness systems across the Gulf and around the Strait of Hormuz for a few years now, and were declared fully operational ‘capable’ in 2023.
I suppose we’ll have more answers, (and questions) once we get our armada out there, but it’s got to be one of the best places to trial these systems and concepts.
By design.
What else can they talk of, a handful of Escorts, 1 SSN, and a handful of RFA.
It really is a national scandal, luckily for successive governments most of the public care not a jot.
I’m looking forward to orders for this kit.
The concept that men and women spend months underwater in a steel tube sounds as inviting as climbing Everest on a mountain bike! Yet, they have done it for a hundred years or more and sadly will continue to do so until all subs are operated remotely. It’s hard to believe that a large vessel can sail without a crew but it’s going to happen before 2050.
….from 2039. WOW. Meanwhile we’ll keep the one that’s operational at sea then.
Model for hybrid navy – G*d help us – only one out of seven operational at any one time ???
Meanwhile, Pollard states he wants a 1,000 ship RN, mostly uncrewed Drone types.
Can we have our 19 proper escorts at the same time, please?
Is he certifiable, serious, trying to make headlines, trying to be game changing, or does he know something about the DIP?
These Drone types only have a small proven set of roles currently.
It’s governments own “Fantasy Fleets” time !