The UK is to explore re-establishing a domestic nuclear fuel cycle for defence reactor fuel, backed by £1.7bn of investment through a new Nuclear Fuels Programme, the UK Defence Journal understands.
The programme is confirmed in the Defence Investment Plan, which commits to “establishing a Nuclear Fuels Programme to explore options for re-establishing a nuclear fuel cycle for defence reactor fuel.” The Ministry of Defence describes it as one element of a transformation of the Defence Nuclear Enterprise taking place at what it calls an unprecedented rate and scale.
The plan states that “for the first time, we are building new attack submarines, new ballistic missile submarines, new warheads, and new infrastructure, as well as establishing a new nuclear fuels programme, all at the same time. This work is a National Endeavour, with central and local government, industry, and academia working together to deliver these vital programmes.”
Fuel for the reactors that power the Royal Navy’s submarine fleet depends on highly enriched uranium, and the commitment to exploring a re-established fuel cycle addresses long-term security of supply as the submarine force expands. Nuclear reactor core manufacturing capabilities at Raynesway in Derby are being expanded to produce cores for the next-generation attack submarines being built for the UK and Australian navies under AUKUS, with up to 12 SSN-AUKUS boats planned for the Royal Navy and steel to be cut on the first next year.
Basing infrastructure is being reshaped in parallel as the plan confirms the acquisition of three floating docks and infrastructure at Faslane, “enabling resilient out-of-water engineering for all submarine classes.” HM Naval Base Clyde is the subject of what the document describes as a multi-decade, multi-billion pound programme to improve working conditions and ensure readiness for the Dreadnought and SSN-AUKUS fleets, while the Devonport Infrastructure Programme upgrades docks for maintenance and invests in submarine recycling.
Spending on the Defence Nuclear Enterprise totals £63.6bn over the next four years, excluding workforce costs, with £47bn for submarines including maintenance and infrastructure, £13bn for the warhead programme and £290m for nuclear skills. The plan states the enterprise will grow to between about 20 and 25 per cent of the Ministry’s overall budget.
The warhead effort maintains the current Mk4A while designing its replacement, Astraea, with strategic investment at AWE Aldermaston, Burghfield and RNAD Coulport, including completing the MENSA warhead assembly and disassembly facility and constructing a Future Materials Campus.
The Ministry describes the enterprise as “a major engine of economic growth”, supported by a supply chain of over 6,000 UK-based companies and a workforce expected to reach 65,000 by 2030. A new Submarine Delivery Group will be created this year, combining the Submarine Delivery Agency with the Defence Nuclear Organisation’s submarine capability teams.
£1.7b sounds a lot. Can’t we get Group4 to set up in Iran?
Triumph hasn’t been returned for very long. She should recommissioned.
Sort the bloody maintenance facilities as the top priority! The next generation of fuel is no use to anybody tied up alongside!
Triumph hasn’t been returned for very long. She should recommissioned.
63 billion over 4 years, ABC already highlighted that as cobblers.
He’s the man to comment on the rest in any case.
Leap Years 🫡
Is it cobblers? It’s in the DIP which only has four years spending budgets.
Well, have a word when you see him. I think his post was on the RN Wildcat retirement article.
Figures don’t add up in several areas apparently and that spend included previous years.
Jim, Yes it’s cobblers !
Unlike a lot of folks on here I don’t slag you off and you have read enough of my posts to know I don’t use that sort of expression very often.
It’s such an obvious bit of Political sand bagging that I can’t understand why no one has challenged it. Then again unlike most spending decisions this hasn’t been debated in the House of Commons or been subject to informed questions from MPs (Defence questions are Monday 2pm).
Just ask yourself a few questions.
1. As £63 Billion is more than last years entire defence Budget do you really think they are going to be able to spend another £63 Billion over 4 years on the DNE when they have only found an extra £13.3 Billion (so far) to fund everything in the DIP ?
2. If we still need to find another £63 Billion to get the DNE up to scratch, just what have we been doing with the Billions we have been spending for most of the last decade on it all ? Or put another way why is the RR site here in Derby double the size it was and a huge building site ?
3. If you go on UKDJ and do a bit of digging most of the previous announcements are in there and the funding commitments.
The DNE started to be upgraded before Dreadnought was ever ordered as it had to be because everything from one end of it to the other was either falling to bits, out of date, unfit for purpose, unsafe, too small, going out of business or in the case of decommissioning non existent.
So if you go and total all the funding for Babcock (Devonport and Rosyth), BAe (Barrow), HMNB Clyde, 3 New Drydocks, RR (Derby), SFM ( Sheffield), Aldermaston, Burghfield and Capenhurst together plus all the money spent so far on finishing off the Astutes, Dreadnought, SSN-A, New Warhead designs etc etc it’s probably about £63 Billion.
How many times have you read the same announcement repeated over and over again as being NEW ? Well this time someone just decided to roll them all in together and hope no one notices.
Does that make sense ? Or do you really think HMT have found £63 billion under their pillows courtesy of the Tooth Fairy.
Happy Saturday 😉
The DIP covers 10yrs. It’s just that the next four years were woefully underfunded and are now fairly underfunded after some money was found and some more invented
for the first time, we are building new attack submarines, new ballistic missile submarines, new warheads, and new infrastructure, as well as establishing a new nuclear fuels programme, all at the same time. This work is a National Endeavour, with central and local government, industry, and academia working together to deliver these vital programmes
Surely that’s not something to brag about considering we have less Submarines now than in the previous 50 years and the need to do so much much now is the result of poor planning
I thought UK had significant stocks of HEU > 20 tons. A submarine reactor need @5kg., a 1 megaton thermonuclear warhead no more than 25 kg.