BAE Systems gets £2.5bn contract for Royal Navy's submarine programme

Britain's Ministry of Defence will award a £1.5bn contract to BAE Systems to build the seventh boat for the new fleet of Astute-class submarines and a further £960m investment for the completion of a fleet of four nuclear-armed Dreadnought submarines.

The Royal Navy already has four operational Astute submarines, the most powerful and expensive fleet boats in its fleet, with the handover of the newest boat scheduled for the mid-2020s.

It was thought that the programme could be scrapped due to a looming shortfall in the department’s budget of up to £20bn over the next ten years.

“This multi-billion-pound investment in our nuclear submarines shows our unwavering commitment to keeping the UK safe and secure from intensifying threats,” defence secretary Gavin Williamson will say on Monday, according to leaks to the press on Monday.

BAE Systems' submarines arm employs 8,700 people, together with nearly a 1,000 more across the UK submarine supply chain, according to the MoD.

Williamson is also set to officially open a new £100m sub-construction building at BAE Systems.

A Scottish government spokesman said the Scottish government strongly opposed the possession, threat and use of nuclear weapons and want the withdrawal of Trident from Scotland: “The UK Government should be investing in the conventional defence forces and protecting public services from austerity cuts rather than wasting hundreds of billions on nuclear weapons.”