Vanguard-class submarine

HMS Vanguard at Faslane, 2010
Class overview
BuildersVickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Operators Royal Navy
Preceded byResolution class
Succeeded byDreadnought class
Cost
  • £12.15 billion[1] for 4 units (1995/6)
  • £3.04 billion per unit
Built1986–1998
In service1993–present
Completed4
Active4
General characteristics
TypeNuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine
DisplacementSubmerged: 15,900 t (15,600 long tons; 17,500 short tons)
Length149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion
SpeedOver 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), submerged
RangeLimited only by food and mechanical components
Complement135
Sensors and
processing systems
Electronic warfare
& decoys
  • Two SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys
  • RESM Racal UAP passive intercept
Armament

The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy.[2] The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems.[3] All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde (HMS Neptune), 40 km (25 mi) west of Glasgow, Scotland.

Since the decommissioning of the Royal Air Force WE.177 free-fall thermonuclear weapons during March 1998, the four Vanguard submarines are the sole platforms for the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons.[4] Each submarine is armed with up to 16 UGM-133 Trident II missiles. The class is scheduled to be replaced starting in the early 2030s with the Dreadnought-class submarine.[5][6]

  1. ^ Hartley (PDF) Archived 17 March 2012 at the Wayback Machine nuclearinfo.org
  2. ^ Royal Navy Vanguard class submarine, royalnavy.mod.uk
  3. ^ Jane's Fighting Ships, 2004–2005. Jane's Information Group Limited. p. 794. ISBN 0-7106-2623-1.
  4. ^ Strategic Defence Review White Paper of July 1998, published by National Archives – re-access made 2020-03-09
  5. ^ "Everything you need to know about Trident – Britain's nuclear deterrent". ITV News. ITV plc. 18 July 2016. Retrieved 20 July 2016. The £40 billion construction of a new fleet, Successor, could begin this year and be operational by 2028, however it will more than likely be at a later date given the MoD's complex procurement procedures. while the current fleet will be phased out by 2032.
  6. ^ "BAE Systems to begin building new British nuclear submarines". Reuters. 1 October 2016. Retrieved 1 October 2016.