BAE Systems is to begin building the UK's new nuclear submarines as part of a £1.3 billion investment programme.

The announcement was made by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon, who will start work with a traditional 'steel cut' ceremony at the BAE Systems yard next week in Barrow-in-Furness.

Several hundred suppliers are expected to be involved in the Successor project at its peak, which will secure jobs from Scotland to the south of England.

'Delivery Phase 1' of the programme involves manufacturing work beginning on structural steel work for the ‘auxiliary machine space' of the first submarine. This contains switchboards and control panels for the reactor, while money will also be spent furthering the design of the submarine, purchasing materials and long lead items as well as investing in facilities at the yard.

-- Advertisement --

During his visit to the BAE Systems site, Secretary Fallon will meet with apprentices and shipyard workers who will build the vessels. In addition, he will tour the Devonshire Dock Hall where three nuclear-powered submarines are currently under construction.

Tony Douglas, Chief Executive Officer of the MOD's Defence Equipment and Support organisation, said: "The Successor programme is the MOD's biggest project and it will require team work, tremendous skill, commitment from our industrial partners and the UK supply chain, and close collaboration with our US allies to deliver it successfully."

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "Britain's ballistic missile submarines are the ultimate guarantee of our nation's safety – we use them every day to deter the most extreme threats.

"We cannot know what new dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s so we are acting now to replace them."

(LM/CD)