HMS Astute left Faslane today, joining HMS Anson and HMS Triumph already at sea. With 50% of the Royal Navy’s SSNs now deployed this marks a significant improvement following almost two years of very limited activity.
HMS Triumph sailed from Devonport on 6th November after 10 weeks alongside. HMS Anson left her base on the Clyde on 7th November and HMS Astute sailed again today following her return from exercise Strike Warrior on 3rd November. The RN had promised that submarine activity would increase at the tail end of this year but specific Russian submarine activity may be also the reason for the simultaneous deployment of three boats. There must also be a major live training backlog for submariners who have not had the opportunity to go to sea for some time.
HMS Audacious remains in Devonport still awaiting Dry Dock 19 months after arriving there. HMS Ambush has not been to sea for more than two years and HMS Artful has not sailed for 18 months. HMS Triumph is expected to decommission in 2025 while the 6th Astute, HMS Agamemnon was rolled out of the Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH) at Barrow on 1st October.
A significant fire broke out in the DDH on 30th October. It is believed a piece of industrial equipment was the source of the fire that then spread to adjacent flammable materials. So far there has been no comment on whether there was any significant damage to boat 7 (HMS Agincourt) or sections of HMS Dreadnought being assembled at the facility. At the very least, smoke damage will have to be made good and there could be some kind of impact on delivery schedules.
Main image: HMS Astute heading down the Clyde (Photo Michael Cuthbert).
Related articles
The Royal Navy’s Astute class submarines: Part 2 – platform design
Royal Navy’s last Trafalgar-class submarine sails for the final time
First ex-Royal Navy nuclear submarine to be disposed of enters final dismantling phase
First Royal Navy attack submarine to put to sea in 3 months sails to join exercise Strike Warrior
Good to see a restoration of capability, let’s hope this is the end of the maintenance fiasco.
We hope so bob but with the way thing have been over the last few years. We may have little more than hope. It is a shambles we simply don’t have enough capacity.
What is a grumpy “stocker” 😂😂😂😂
Someone who stacks shelves at Asda…… ?
Good, I suppose, but why have Ambush and Artful been inactive for so long?
Maintenance or personnel – take your pick!
Interesting question is why Audacious, as much newer, is the one sent to Devonport and presumably useless, despite lack of dry dock.
It does beg the question of why she was sent there? Does she require prolonged period in dock? Meantime it’s pretty worrying why Ambush and Artful have been alongside for so long, is there something wrong with our submarines? With limited numbers, the last thing the RN needs is maintenance intensive boats
Went to Wiki for help on Artful and Ambush, and that quotes Navy Lookout as a source!
Maintenance period at the place where the maintence personnel and their spare parts are located.
Doesnt need a dry dock unless its hull or propulsion related
Cheers dits
HMS Audacious,although pretty new,spent about a Year forward deployed on Ops with only short restock and maintenance periods,that is why she needs a long Docking period now.
Look at the dates since launch David of the boats that are simply said to be inactive. Every submariner knows that around every 4 years a submarine goes through a maintenance period called full cycle docking where it is basically stripped down and rebuilt with the exception of the reactor.
look what 4 months of a labour government can do …chuckles
“Look what 4 months of Labour Government can do” Yes, we can all see what damage they have done in such a short time. Sighs.
The Clarkson loophole of buying farms to avoid inheritance tax – CLOSED
Not a loophole, just sensible.
Has anyone investigated whether Putin started the fire?
Or China. Or Iran.
Yikes
3 at sea does not necessarily mean operational, nor mask the fact that the low numbers limits operational flexibility, especially independent operations where the boat isn’t tied to a task force or required to sanitise the Boomers.
Editor / Author
REF: Big Fire AT BAe’s Barrows Devonshire Hall:
“….and there could be some kind of impact on delivery schedules”.
This has just got to be THE classic understatement, of all-time, ever made here on NL!
Have you considered applying for a new job: within Whitehall’s senior civil service????
With your skill set, especially the ability of being able to spot “a very good day to bury bad news” = you would be ideal for the very top job in the PM’s personal PR department
regards Peter (Irate Taxpayer)
PS Julian
Before you suggest that it was the Salisbury poisoners who started this fire – I suggest you read my many comments – all written and posted here on Navy Lookout long before this fire started – about the competence (or otherwise!) of BAe’s management team over at Barrow. (posted on NL under many submarine-related articles: especially “submarine infrastucture“)
My post of early October 2024 was “on-par” with that French bloke Nostradamus…
PPS Editor
The “rather unfortunate” timing of this very recent annoucement by the ONR – who for those of you who don’t know is the UK’s nuclear regulator – was far better than anything which Nostradamus has ever written. It is almost as if the ONR knew it was coming…..
UK joins international workshops reviewing fire protection at nuclear installations | Office for Nuclear Regulation
I must go now: I am off to run a “Physic Awareness for Begineers” at the local U3A
TLDNR – SOP
What is clear is, we are happy to see there are, AT LEAST, 3 SSN crew teams alive in RN.
Must be four, as we know the future HMS Agamemnon has a crew allocated to her.
Lot of work to do this well in lads. Complete understatement.
I feel like someone needs to be fired for this abysmal performance.