The Submersible Ship Nuclear (Replacement) or SSN(R) (also known as the Maritime Underwater Future Capability (MUFC)) is a planned class of

nuclear-powered Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced b ...

fleet submarine A fleet submarine is a submarine with the speed, range, and endurance to operate as part of a navy's battle fleet. Examples of fleet submarines are the British First World War era K class and the American World War II era ''Gato'' class. The t ...

(

SSN SSN may refer to: Broadcasting *Setanta Sports News, a former 24-hour sports news network in the United Kingdom * Sky Sports News, a 24-hour sports news network in the United Kingdom * Soul of the South Network, an African-American oriented TV Netw ...

) intended to enter service with the United Kingdom’s

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in the 2040s as a replacement for the current , the last of which will be delivered in 2026.

Development

The initial concept phase of the programme was scheduled to last for three years. This phase had begun in early 2018 but was suspended for two years due to delays in the ''Astute''-class and delivery programmes. In 2020, the

Ministry of Defence {{unsourced, date=February 2021 A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is an often-used name for the part of a government responsible for matters of defence, found in state ...

recruited for a Submarine Delivery Agency Project Manager to work on the SSN(R) design and development process. In March 2021, the government’s defence paper ''

Defence in a Competitive Age ''Defence in a Competitive Age'' is a Ministry of Defence command paper which was released on 22 March 2021. It provided details on changes to the armed forces to meet the requirements of the Integrated Review which was published before it on 16 ...

'' committed to funding the SSN(R) project. This was followed in September 2021 by an investment of £170 million by the government in the form of two £85 million contracts to BAE Systems and

Rolls-Royce Holdings Rolls-Royce Holdings plc is a British multinational aerospace and defence company incorporated in February 2011. The company owns Rolls-Royce, a business established in 1904 which today designs, manufactures and distributes power systems for ...

for early design work on the SSN(R). The investment will support 350 jobs for the UK economy. In November 2022, MSubs Ltd was awarded a £15.4m contract to build an XLUUV (Extra Large Uncrewed Underwater Vehicle) vessel which is to be delivered to the Royal Navy within two years. The 17-tonne vessel (known as Project CETUS) is described as being "the next step in developing autonomous underwater warfare capability" and is also to feed into the design of SSN(R). The SSN(R) is likely to be delivered through the 2040s and 2050s.

References

Submarine classes Ship classes of the Royal Navy Proposed ships of the Royal Navy United Kingdom defence procurement {{UK-submarine-stub

Development

See also

References