Britain's Massive HMS Astute Submarine Launched

[Sean Osborne]

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/a...tic/article.do

Britain launches massive submarine that can hear a ship from across the Atlantic

She is four years late and a massive £900million over-budget.

But when the Royal Navy's super-sub HMS Astute finally arrived, she made for an awesome sight.

More complex than the space shuttle, and able to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing, the 7,400-ton monster is the largest and deadliest hunter-killer submarine ever built.


Artists impression of HMS Astute underway

The Duchess of Cornwall cracked a bottle of beer – brewed by the sub's crew – on her prow to officially name the "boat", in Navy jargon, before she was gingerly wheeled out of her shed at the stately speed of one metre per minute.

The specifications for Britain's biggest submarine make for mind- boggling reading, but it was the sheer size of the black behemoth which made its mark on the 10,000 dockyard workers, schoolchildren, VIPs and Navy personnel invited to the ceremony in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

As long as a football pitch, at 318ft, and as wide as four double- decker buses, HMS Astute is a third longer than any sub which has gone before.


Bow section rolling to final assembly.

Her nuclear-powered engine will propel her through the water at more than 20 knots, yet the UK's first stealth sub makes less noise than a baby dolphin, making her as good as undetectable by enemy ships.

Astute's sonar is so advanced that if she was lying in the English Channel she would be able to detect ships leaving New York harbour 3,000 nautical miles away (although the details of how she can do this are classified).

The nuclear reactor will never need refuelling, and with an ability to make oxygen and drinking water out of sea water, the sub could stay underwater for its entire 25-year lifespan were it not for the needs of the crew.

Once she goes into operation in 2009, Astute will carry a 98-man crew and stay at sea for 12 weeks on a routine patrol.

She will carry 38 Tomahawk cruise missiles, with a range of 1,240 miles, meaning Astute could attack targets in North Africa with pinpoint accuracy while sitting off the coast of Plymouth.


Final assembly

Spearfish torpedoes will also be on board for attacking ships and other subs.

But Astute will not carry nuclear weapons – the UK's Trident missiles are launched from the Vanguard class of submarines.



The Navy's submarine chief Captain Mike Davis-Marks said: "The Astute class of submarines will quite simply be unbeatable worldwide for many years to come.

"Astute will have a capability that will keep us right at the top of the premiership of the world's navies – the Manchester United of submarine nations. With our proud heritage, Britain deserves nothing less."

Astute is the first of four vessels to be built by BAE Systems at a total cost of £3.85billion, or £960million each.

She will be joined by HMS Ambush, HMS Artful and HMS Audacious, with an option for a further three subs to come.

Defence procurement minister Lord Drayson called Astute "a truly remarkable vessel" whose importance "cannot be over-estimated".

As the Duchess of Cornwall named the sub – the first such ceremony she has carried out – she said: "As an admiral's wife myself, I am delighted to be in Barrow-in-Furness today for the naming and launching of Astute. I shall follow her progress with particular interest and hope to see her in the near future."

She was presented with a retriever puppy, similar to one which appears on the Astute's crest, which will be donated to Guide Dogs for the Blind.

The boat, which will replace the Swiftsure and Trafalgar classes, will be gently lowered into the water. It will eventually be based in Faslane on the Clyde in Scotland.

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This buried thread by Sean Osborne has resulted in what looks like the highest viewed single post on this board.

Posted nearly 900 days ago divided by 8293 views comes to an average of 10 views every single day!

The HMS Astute has taken to the water and will make an effort to add substance for a very large audience interested in this specific subject.

July 1st, 2007 13:54
by Sean Osborne

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BAE hands new nuclear submarine to the Royal Navy – four years late

When the Navy gets its hands on the first new class of submarine launched for 17 years, it is sure to be a quiet affair.

By Amy Wilson
Published: 11:33PM GMT 15 Nov 2009
Comments 36 | Comment on this article


The first Astute class nuclear submarine is brought out of BAE's Devonshire Dock Hall Photo: AFP

The handover of the first British submarine to provide every crew member with his own bunk might seem like an excuse for noisy celebration on board HMS Astute, but a nuclear submarine's raison d'être is silence and stealth. So by the time you read this, she may well have slipped silently from her moorings at Barrow-in-Furness and be heading for her new home at the Faslane naval base on the west coast of Scotland.

The exact launch date for the start of Astute's sea trials depends on the weather, and is not disclosed for security reasons, but the submarine was being loaded up with fresh food at the end of last week, and her departure seemed imminent.

The captain of Astute, Commander Andy Coles, was champing at the bit to see what his new vessel will be capable of on its voyage up the west coast, but he acknowledged the delays which beset the project in its early years and led to the long gap since the Navy took on a new class of submarine.

Astute's specifications are heaven for lovers of big numbers – it is 97m long, the equivalent of 10 London buses, and weighs 7,400 tonnes compared with the 5,000 tonnes managed by its predecessor, the Trafalgar class. It has the biggest "ears" of any sonar system in service today, with the processing power of 2,000 laptops. The nuclear reactor which drives the propulsion system is roughly the size of a dustbin but will last the 30-year life of the boat without needing to be replaced.

But there are some other big numbers to bear in mind – the first three Astute class submarines (HMS Astute, Ambush and Artful) cost the Government £3.8bn, according to last year's National Audit Office report, compared with an initial contract for £2.58bn. That report also showed the project was 47 months late, with an original in-service date for Astute of May 2005.

What caused this four-year delay? The end of the Cold War and the gap between designing the Trafalgar class submarines meant a lot of nuclear submarine-building experience had disappeared, and contractor BAE Systems struggled with Astute's computer-aided design. Eventually, in 2003, the Ministry of Defence had to promise more money and help was enlisted from US submarine builder Electric Boat, owned by General Dynamics.

So finally in November 2009, Astute is starting 18 months of sea trials. Rear Admiral Simon Lister, the Navy's director general of submarines, insists Astute will be an "asset" before the end of that period.

The Astute class submarines are being built at BAE Systems' huge yard at Barrow, which employs 5,000 people in the Cumbrian town. The company and the Navy have an order from the Ministry of Defence for a fourth boat, HMS Audacious, and are in negotiations over numbers five and six.

Seven Trafalgar class submarines are due to be withdrawn over the coming years, and seven Astute vessels were planned to replace them.
"It's our intention to purchase seven Astute class submarines," said Rear-Adml Lister. Like all large defence projects, the Astute boats not yet under contract could be at risk from the outcome of the Government's planned strategic defence review. "They will be a huge improvement in capability," said Rear-Adml Lister. "The issue in the strategic defence review will be which capability this country wishes to fund."

With the Army at full stretch fighting insurgents in landlocked Afghanistan and the Ministry of Defence's coffers distinctly empty, what would be the justification for spending billions on nuclear submarines?

"The surveillance capability is very important in carrying out anti-piracy and anti-terrorism at sea," said John Hudson, managing director of BAE's submarine business. "The key thing is stealth. A submarine can go in, do something, then leave, and you never know it's been there." During the Cold War, submarines were used to tap telephone cables, and at present, there is a British submarine somewhere "east of Suez" every day of the year.

HMS Astute has the capacity to send out a launch and recover personnel, although for security reasons neither BAE or the Navy would go into detail. There is also an access hatch for special forces troops.
The "quantum leap" in Astute's capability also has a more human side.

One of the benefits of the submarine being so much bigger than its predecessors is that her crew of 98 men will be the first in the Navy to have their own beds. Submariners at present work round the clock and have to "hot bunk", or share a bed with someone on the opposite shift pattern, one sleeping while the other one works.

But conditions are still hardly luxurious. The captain is the only man who has his own room and wash-hand basin. The bunks for everyone else are stacked three high, with the middle bed the favoured choice – the top one is harder to get in to and the bottom one means being close to people's feet, which after 90 days without fresh air is not a desirable place to be.

Each submariner has one small locker to keep all his worldly goods in during the three-month tours. The invention of the Sony Reader electronic book has transformed the life of one bibliophile submariner, who previously filled his tiny locker with novels and kept his clothes under his mattress. There are five showers and five toilets for the sailors. Astute is a huge improvement, but it will still be a special kind of person who can live on a submarine.

A final piece of information that might disappoint devotees of Second World War films – the Astute is the first British submarine not to use an optical periscope. Instead of using what one of Astute's submariners described as a pair of glasses on the end of a pole, fibre-optic cables will stream footage down to TV screens.

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Exclusive: Royal Navy's most advanced submarine HMS Astute set for home on the River Clyde

Nov 13 2009 By Craig McDonald

THE Royal Navy's most advanced submarine will set sail for her new base on the Clyde within days, the Record can reveal.

Hms Astute has been described as "more complex than the space shuttle" - and her onboard nuclear reactor means she'll never need to be refuelled.

The mighty £1.2billion vessel has been under construction amid tight security for the past eight years.

But the Record received unprecedented access onboard yesterday as she prepares to leave BAE Systems' yard in Barrow, Cumbria, for Faslane - where Astute will be based for the next 25 years.

Commander Andy Coles, 46, who will captain Astute, said: "We are the prototype, going out to prove this amazing new submarine.

"It's very exciting - and we have it in our gift to change the way the Royal Navy will serve for the next 25 years and beyond.

"These submarines are designed to stay at sea for a long time, operate with stealth - and strike at a moment's notice."

Astute features the latest stealth technology and sonar systems - and carries a fearsome array of Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk land missiles.

She's designed to carry out anti-ship and anti-sub operations, as well as surveillance, intelligence gathering and support for land forces.

MoD bosses won't say exactly when Astute will sail from Barrow's giant Devonshire Dock, which has been home to the sub since its keel was laid in 2001.

But sources revealed the 323ft-long vessel is expected to slip out of the yard within days - and arrive at Faslane, Dunbartonshire, "before Christmas".

The sea trials Astute will undergo are designed to prove her capability as the most formidable vessel of its kind ever operated by the Royal Navy and the standard bearer for a new generation.

Two more A Class subs - Ambush and Artful - are already well under production at Barrow and it's hoped the final order will comprise seven subs.

The A Class vessels are much bigger than the Swiftsure and Trafalgar class they'll replace - but require fewer crew due to the advanced technology on board.

Even inside the yard, parts of the subs' hulls and sonar systems are concealed behind sheeting or wooden frames to keep the top-secret features secure from prying eyes.

MoD bosses revealed that one of the most sensitive features of the new sub is the capability to "deploy and recover personnel" - referring to its ability to maneouvre Special Forces teams into top-secret underwater operations.

Astute's unlimited power is provided by the pressurised water nuclear reactor that's capable of powering a city the size of Aberdeen.

The astonishing vessel can submerge and circumnavigate the globe during a 90-day patrol, creating her own air and fresh water from the ocean.

Astute is also the first submarine to operate a digital optical mast system in place of the traditional sea periscope.

It means operators can observe hi-tech images on TV screens and the mast only has to break the ocean's surface for a few seconds to provide a wealth of information.

The system also offers low-light and infra-red functions to enable her to rapidly capture and analyse visual grabs.

Luxury is not a word associated with life onboard a submarine - and Astute is all about operational capability.

But her crew will be the first to each have their own bunk, removing the need for "hot bunking" when one crewman would occupy a bunk vacated by another.

And even the junior ratings' mess has a massive plasma TV, DVD player and games consoles to allow those on board to relax when off shift.

The little perks all help make life more comfortable for the crew of 98 as they get ready to embark on patrols which can last up to three months.

Submariners spend so long under the sea that they're advised not to drive a car for a while on their return to land - as their eyes as unused to sighting distant objects.

John Hudson, managing director of BAE Submarine Solutions, said: "This has been a challenging and exciting project.

"It's a bit like building a portable nuclear power station - but alongside a military weapons facility. That gives an idea of the nature of the safety challenges.

"The core feature of a sub is its stealth - its ability to do something, then go away without anyone even knowing it's been there in the first place."

He revealed Astute's unique design even allows the vessel to flex and bend without snapping, in order to withstand the shockwaves of a mine attack.

And he said the sub programme had sent financial ripples across the UK - with £12.5million pounds spent across 40 suppliers in Scotland alone in 2008.

Rear Admiral Simon Lister, the MoD's director of submarines, said: "Astute is eagerly anticipated in the Royal Navy and we are very impressed with what we have seen so far.

"This represents a quantum leap in the capabilities of the submarines they will replace.

"These vessels will be used for anthing from surveillance to anti-piracy to anti-terrorism to name but a few.

"There are also five chefs onboard the Astute - and they are delighted with the galley.

"And they say that if the chefs are happy, then the ship's company will be happy too."

ASTUTE FACTS
A HI-TECH on-board nuclear reactor means Astute will never need refuelled during her 25-year life.

Astute's 323ft length is more than the length of 10 buses.

When fully stocked with stores it will displace 7400 tonnes of sea water - equivalent to 65 blue whales.

There is around 110km of cabling and pipe work on board - equivalent to driving from Bristol to Oxford.

Her missiles can strike at targets up to 1000km from the coast with pinpoint accuracy - equivalent to driving from London to Paris and back twice.

When deep-diving, the submarine must resist pressure equivalent to 400 family saloon cars piled one on top of the other on every square metre of the pressure hull.

There are five showers, five toilets, two urinals and eight hand basins for the crew of 98.

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UK: New Hunter Killer Nuclear Submarine Takes To The Seas



The biggest and most powerful attack submarine ever built for the Royal Navy – Astute – took to the seas this weekend.

Astute set sail from Barrow-in-Furness to start her first set of sea trials and is now heading to her homeport of Faslane on the Clyde in Scotland.

Measuring nearly one hundred metres from bow to stern, Astute is longer than ten London buses. When fully stored, she will displace 7,800 tonnes of sea water, equivalent to 65 blue whales.

The Astute submarine has the latest stealth technology, a world-beating sonar system and is armed with 38 torpedoes and missiles - more than any previous Royal Navy submarine. She will be able to circumnavigate the entire globe while submerged and advanced nuclear technology means that she will never need to be refuelled.

The Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

“This is a significant milestone for Astute as she sails for the first time towards her homeport of Faslane. The Astute class of submarines will deliver a step change in capability for defence in terms of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, protecting the deterrent, and providing land attack and intelligence gathering. Astute will now begin a set of sea trials ahead of her full acceptance with the Royal Navy next year.

“I would like to pay tribute to both the MoD and BAE Systems Submarine Solutions staff who have worked so hard to achieve this remarkable feat of engineering.

DE&S Director Submarines, Rear Admiral Simon Lister, who has overseen the final stages of the submarine production and preparation for sea trials, said:

“Building a nuclear submarine is a huge challenge and demands the highest standards of design, engineering and manufacturing to ensure she can safely perform her demanding duties.

“Submarine building combines a huge variety of elements: sometimes it is more like blacksmithing manipulating the steel of the hull, and sometimes it like brain surgery, dealing with advanced technology and performing tasks to an almost unbelievable level of accuracy.

“Astute represents the sum of thousands of individual efforts, and everyone involved in her creation can be proud.”

Astute is expected to arrive in Faslane later this week.

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Britain's £1.3bn new sub 'Astute' sets sail

The first new class of submarine for nearly two decades is four years late and required an industrial renaissance.

Sarah Arnott reports
Tuesday, 17 November 2009



When the nuclear-powered HMS Astute slipped quietly out of the shipyard at Barrow on the Cumbrian coast at the weekend, it was more than just the climax of 15 years' hard work and hi-tech engineering. As the first of an entirely new class of submarine, Astute's departure for 18 months of intensive Royal Navy trials also embodies the successful rebuilding of once-lost industrial capacity. And its state-of-the-art military capability will be used to argue for continued investment in submarines in next year's review of military spending.

In the days before launch, the 135-strong crew of the Astute – who have been living on board for some weeks – were unstinting in their praise. Andrew Coles, the boat's commanding officer, said: "This submarine is a step change in technology and an awesome capability."

It is no small triumph is that Astute exists at all. The shipyards in Barrow-in-Furness have been building submarines for more than a century: from the first-ever Holland in 1901, through the first nuclear-powered Dreadnought in 1960, to the last of the UK's four nuclear warhead-carrying Vanguards, HMS Vigilant, in 1995. But it is 17 years since the last all-new sub was launched. So when the Government decided to go ahead with the Astute programme – which includes at least three and potentially up to seven boats – the ability to design, built and test them had to be recreated from scratch.

For BAE Systems, the private sector contractor, it meant finding, hiring and training several thousand staff at every level, from nuclear engineers and naval architects to hands-on construction workers. For the Navy, it also meant brushing off rusty skills. Commander Coles said: "We rue the fact it has been so long since the last new submarine because the expertise in how to build them was difficult for the company to reproduce. The expertise in how to commission and take them out was equally challenging for the Navy."

The programme has not been without its problems. As early as 2002, BAE blamed a profits warning at least in part on delays with Astute , caused by the complexity of the programme and teething problems using computerised 3D design technology for the first time. By last December, the programme was £1.2bn over budget and nearly four years late. But by the time Astute was ready to launch, all 5,000 employees at the Barrow shipyard were bursting with pride.

There is no question that Astute is an awesome piece of kit. It is 97m long, weighs 7,400 tonnes and is powered by a nuclear power station scaled down to around the size of a dustbin. Unlike conventional nuclear technology, it can change its load at the flick of a switch, so the sub can speed up and slow down, and it also coexists safely with both the crew and the weapons systems.

John Hudson, managing director of BAE Systems's submarine business, said: "Astute is like going to a nuclear power station with large amounts of high explosives."

The boat is incredibly self-sufficient: manufacturing its own oxygen and drinking water from the surrounding ocean, never needing to be refuelled, and limited in the length of operations only by the amount of food that can be carried for the crew.

It also wields significant military might. Astute carries a mix of Spearfish torpedoes for close-range encounters with surface ships or other submarines, along with Tomahawk cruise missiles for attacking land targets. Mr Hudson said: "It has more than just a maritime role, Astute also has land attack capability. It can deploy worldwide, off any coastline, and the range of the Tomahawk missile can hit 96 per cent of the world's populated areas."

BAE Systems – with one eye on the forthcoming defence review – is keen to stress the wider economic benefits of a fully fledged, hi-tech submarine-building industry. About half of the £3.8bn price tag on the first three new subs – of which Astute is the first – is spent on materials, and the majority of components are procured from around the country and only integrated at Barrow. Some 410 suppliers across the country took a slice of the £215m spent in 2008 (see map). Mr Hudson said:

"This is a programme using complicated and highly advanced engineering and that has tentacles that reach out into the whole of the UK economy."

The arguments over defence spending will only get louder in the coming months, as Whitehall gears up for the second iteration of the UK's Defence Industrial Strategy. The review is due to start immediately after next year's election, regardless of which party wins, and will set out to decide on the UK's role in the world and where the military budget should be spent to support it.

The parlous state of government finances in the wake of the financial crisis will only raise the temperature of an already incendiary debate, and although the Trident nuclear deterrent is not included in the review, the rest of the military's submarine strategy will be.

In Astute 's favour, the Navy is badly in need of new subs. The average age of the fleet is now 22 years, and of the seven Trafalgars that will be replaced, one has already been decommissioned and the rest will go over the next 10 years. So far only three boats are a contractual certainty: Astute itself, now at sea, and Ambush and Artful, progressing well in the Barrow warehouse. But early keel-laying has begun on the fourth, Audacious, and reactor cores have been ordered for the fifth and sixth, as part of the Ministry of Defence's stated intention for seven.

The problem is that submarines do not come cheap. The first three boats alone have a price tag of £3.8bn, and the defence review will require a compelling argument for expensive submarines as the best use of limited funding in a world of unpredictable terrorists and guerrilla wars.

Astute 's supporters are confident of making a strong case. The new class not only pack a more powerful punch than the Trafalgars – with six torpedo tubes compared with five. The real jump in capability is in surveillance. Rear Admiral Simon Lister, the MoD's director general of submarines, said: "Astute is a quantum leap over the Trafalgar class in service currently, and its stealth looks like it will be a great advantage over its predecessor."

Stealth has always been the key military rationale: a sub can do anything a ship can do, without anyone knowing it is there. In modern conflicts, operations increasingly involve looking and listening rather than outright attack. And Astute is designed with just such tasks in mind. It is quieter than any of its predecessors; it carries sonar arrays with the largest number of hydrophone "ears" of any such system anywhere in the world; and, significantly, it is the first British sub specifically designed to send people out on special operations. Rear Admiral Lister said: "Submarines have important capabilities related to asymmetric war – in combating piracy and terrorism in the maritime environment and in the ability to launch and recover personnel."

The clincher will be Trident. If the Government is to go ahead with plans to maintain the nuclear deterrent, and to replace the Vanguards that carry it, it cannot simultaneously wind down the wider submarine fleet.

And if the Vanguards' so-called "Successor" programme is to be based in the UK, the industrial capability will also need to be maintained. Rear Admiral Lister said: "The link between Astute and Successor is ensuring a smooth, long-range production environment."

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A gross waste of our money

Friday 20 November 2009

HMS Astute, Britain's latest, state-of-the-art, nuclear-powered attack submarine has been unveiled, four years late and nearly £1 billion over budget, but the naval top brass are excited beyond measure.

They have been drooling about Astute's ability to monitor mobile phone conversations by means of a listening system that, from the English Channel, can detect a cruise liner leaving New York.

It can also discharge special forces personnel into enemy territory by mini submersible craft so that they can direct Astute's Tomahawk cruise missiles at targets up to 1,400 miles away.

Astute has twice the armoury of the current Swiftsure class of nuclear-powered submarines, carrying 38 cruise missiles and Spearfish torpedoes capable of destroying a warship.

And the Tomahawks are of a special breed too, capable of lingering over a target and being reprogrammed in mid-flight.

Defence Equipment and Support Minister Quentin Davies, who stepped up to ministerial level after quitting the Tories to join Labour two years ago, said: "The Astute class of submarines will deliver a step change in capability for defence in terms of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, protecting the (Trident nuclear) deterrent and providing land attack and intelligence gathering."

HIH

The Morning Star has no hesitation in calling this expenditure a gross waste of taxpayers' money, which will not help any of us to sleep more safely in our beds.

Of course, Davies has already demonstrated that he has different priorities for public spending than the rest of us.

He believed it reasonable to call a small Westminster flat his main residence and to claim over £10,000 to repair the windows in the listed 18th century mansion that he designates his second home.

Gordon Brown indicated belatedly that he wanted to see an end to the allowances scandal in the House of Commons.

But he remains committed to a militarised economy, based on overseas wars and a global-reach navy, that is above and beyond the financial capacity of this country to sustain.

The Trident nuclear deterrent was designed for use against the Soviet Union. It was predicated on the dubious claim that the Soviet Union was intent on rolling its tanks across western Europe.

Even if that had ever been the Soviet intent, that state hasn't existed for 18 years. Which country is now the target for this massive arsenal? Huh?

The only wars in which Britain participates are those prescribed by the White House or those to which it gives the green light, such as the totally unnecessary conflict with Argentina in 1982.

Deploying nuclear-powered submarines around the world is a military irrelevance.

It is an unaffordable display of post-empire nostalgia for the days when the Royal Navy ruled the oceans and when Britain made decisions that dictated what happened in much of the world.

Those days are gone. Good riddance to them. It is time to dispense with the symbols of empire and to rebuild a creaking economy that will benefit the people of Britain and permit assistance to poorer countries.

The National Institute for Clinical Excellence ruled this week that medication costing £7.7 million to keep 600-700 patients with advanced liver cancer alive for a few months was unaffordable.

Not only government but society as a whole has to begin to reconsider its priorities and choose a peace-based economy over martial pomp and nostalgia.

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Even if that had ever been the Soviet intent, that state hasn't existed for 18 years. Which country is now the target for this massive arsenal?

Obviously this person is living under a rock. Frankly speaking have you seen what has been happening to the US military lately?

Here's just three recent threads:

Obama and Gates Gut the Military
US Now Trains More Drone Operators Than Pilots
Dumbing-Down the U.S. Navy

On missile defense we are nearly waiving the white flag.

If your still not sure just stroll through the Russia subforum and take a peek.

We are going to need all the help we can get!

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We are world leaders

Last updated at 16:40, Tuesday, 17 November 2009

AFTER the succesful departure of Astute on Sunday, we gauge reaction to what the submarine means to Barrow and bhow it has put the townb on the map as a world leader in state-of-the-art nuclear submarines



SHE'S LEAVING HOME: Astute, flanked by tugs, leaves Barrow on Sunday

FURNESS MP JOHN HUTTON said: “I am delighted Astute has safely got underway.

“The Royal Navy know they are receiving quality products when they take vessels from Barrow.

“This has undoubtedly been a challenging programme but what has been achieved is a tribute to the skills and abilities of all associated with the programme.”

JOHN WOODCOCK, the Labour Party prospective parliamentary candidate for Barrow and Furness, said: “Astute leaving is a significant milestone in the life of the programme and I am pleased all went well for her departure.

“The naval shipbuilding programme the Labour government have outlined and are committed to is of course vital to the prosperity of the Furness area.

“The Labour Party are the only party who have given firm commitments that will support work for the Barrow yard – the Tories are still not giving a firm undertaking to support the Trident submarine successor programme.”

BARRIE DOWNER, secretary of the Barrow in Furness branch of the Submariners Association, said: “From the Submariners Association point of view I would like to express how proud we all are in the association and in the Barrow in Furness branch in particular that (the future) HMS Astute is now safely off to sea and beginning its sea trials.

“There are a significant number of our association members who have contributed towards this achievement, some of whom are working for BAE and its sub contractors for the Ministry of Defence at Barrow and several who are members of the ship’s company of (the future) HMS Astute.

“I will not name them all but they know who they are and what part they have played in such a successful achievement.

“It is a long time since a first of class submarine has left Barrow – the last was HMS Vanguard in the 1990s – and the last submarine of that class to leave Barrow left over 11 years ago.

“It is good news for Barrow and the shipyard that the skills required to build and commission nuclear submarines have not been lost and now the future looks bright for the shipyard, the rest of the Astute submarine class and for the successor class of the Trident submarines which should follow.

“As she leaves Barrow, we wish calm seas, good fortune and all the best for the future to Commander Andy Coles and his crew.

“I am sure they will make us all in Barrow and the shipyard proud and we know that (the future) HMS Astute will be warmly welcomed into the submarine flotilla where she is keenly awaited.”

TERRY SPURLING BEM, a leading member of the Barrow branch of the Submariners Association and a former submariner, said: “From a submariner’s point of view the sailing of Astute marks a significant milestone for both Barrow and the Royal Navy.

“From the Barrow point of view BAE has virtually completed the build of another first of class submarine.

“First of class is significant as this FoC is probably the most complex ever conducted by our shipyard.

“As has been mentioned elsewhere, this is far more complex than even a spacecraft such as the shuttle. “Much has been said about it being ‘late’.

“It is only late to the original programme dates.

“Significant reprogramming was required to recognise many changes in design during the building of the vessel and the many changes required to both personnel and build methods within the shipyard itself.

“From the Royal Navy’s point of view they have been waiting for such a vessel for a long time.

“They are aware that what they are about to receive will significantly improve their capabilities within the overall abilities of their fleet.

“It really is a marvellous machine, as stated by the crew on many, many occasions.

“We can now look forward to Ambush and the remaining class vessels joining Astute in the not too distant future.

“From a personal point of view, as a submariner, I can recall joining the Nuclear Submarine Service in 1963 – HMS Dreadnought – and being aware of becoming involved in something very special.

“Whilst Dreadnought was considered complex for its time, this new class is a world apart from those vessels.

“All submariners would wish the new crew members the very best as they work up this new ‘toy’.”

JOHN GOUGH, the Conservative parliamentary candidate for Barrow and Furness, said: “I was thrilled to see Astute set off on her sea trials and leave Barrow and wish her and her crew every success. The first meeting which led to me being selected to be the Conservative candidate was on the day that she was launched, so in some ways seeing her leave was touched with a sense of sadness. Astute is a massive leap in capability for the Royal Navy, and the Barrow workforce have adapted the design to delivering this capability against changing threats.

“She will be the most powerful attack boat ever built for the Navy and is better able to support special forces, so I am sure that future governments will be thankful that they have such a vessel if the need arises.

“Every time I have visited BAE I am always impressed by the skill and dedication of the workforce.

“The people of Barrow have every right to be proud of building such world class submarines for the Royal Navy.

“Every senior Conservative who has visited the yard comments on the scale and complexity of the project and what a showcase to the UK and the world it is.

“I am sure Astute and her crew will excel in their sea trials and she will serve the Royal Navy and our country for many years, and I am confident that we shall see many more of her sisters heading down the channel in the future.”

STUART KLOSINSKI, industrial development manager of business support and job creation agency Furness Enterprise, said: “We were delighted to see Astute sailing down the Walney Channel.
“It is the first new attack (class) submarine to leave Barrow for 19 years since HMS Triumph.

“Astute is a triumph for both Barrow and British engineering.
“It will give the Royal Navy almost as much attack capability as one of the new aircraft carriers and will be able to do it in a stealthy way.
“We are now looking forward to Astute completing its sea trials successfully, enabling the government to invest in further similar submarines.

“This is a view shared by ourselves and the trades union-led Keep Our Future Afloat Campaign.

“The shipyard and its supply chain is making great strides towards demonstrating affordability of nuclear submarines.

“With the uncertain world we live in, it is vitally important that the campaign to have up to eight Astutes is backed by the government as well as the unions.”

First published at 14:31, Tuesday, 17 November 2009
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk

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From The Times
November 18, 2009
Deterrent cannot be guaranteed with three subs, says Navy chief



Michael Evans, Defence Editor

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The Royal Navy will only be able to “guarantee” continuous deterrent patrols with Trident ballistic-missile submarines if the Government agrees to keep four boats, the head of the Royal Navy told The Times yesterday.

It would be possible to get by with three submarines, provided the Government was prepared to risk breaking the 24-hour, 365-day patrol cycle that had been maintained for 41 years. Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said that Gordon Brown had posed a perfectly legitimate question when, in planning for Trident’s replacement, he asked the Navy to study whether the nuclear deterrent patrols could be fulfilled with three boats.

The Government announced in 2006 that it planned to replace the four-boat ballistic-missile Vanguard class boats with a new submarine system and an upgraded Trident being developed in the US. The programme, with four new boats, would cost £20 billion, and the first submarine has to be ready for service in 2024.

Admiral Stanhope said that in response to the Prime Minister’s question, posed this year, the Royal Navy was examining whether it would be feasible to rely on three submarines. At any one time one of the boats would be in refit and another would be coming out of or preparing for refit, leaving just one submarine available for operational service, he warned.

T
imes Archive, 1981: Tories say 'Yes, but' to new missile system

'We can see no case for the cancellation of Trident by any future government'

• Leading article: Making room for Trident

• Letter: Challenging the case for Trident

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• Britain promises to cut Trident fleet

“If there were to be a major incident on board, such as a fire, this could cause the continuous patrol cycle to be broken,” Admiral Stanhope said.
The First Sea Lord and the other two Service chiefs will be playing a significant role in the defence review to take place after the general election, and work is already under way on the broad objectives.

Air Chief Marshal Sir Jock Stirrup, the Chief of the Defence Staff, has told the Ministry of Defence staff that “support for operations in Afghanistan is now the main effort for defence”.

While agreeing that Afghanistan had to take priority, Admiral Stanhope warned that it should not be the focus of all planning. “When Afghanistan is consigned to the history books there will still be a whole lot of different issues in the future which we will have to deal with, such as the security aspects arising from climate change and energy supplies, and 95 per cent of Britain’s trade goes by sea,” he said. Britain also had 14 dependent territories that required security guarantees.

Conscious of the different requirements of the three Services, he said his fellow chiefs agreed that the building of two large aircraft carriers would have multiple uses for the future, although, he admitted, “resources are going to be extremely tight”.

If Britain wished to retain an interventionist role in the world, the carriers, which he said would be 64,000 tonnes, would provide a platform for ground-attack aircraft, helicopters, air defence assets and unmanned aerial vehicles (reconnaissance drones). They would also have hospital facilities.

Admiral Stanhope acknowledged that the Army and the RAF might have slightly different priorities when limited resources were shared out.

The Government, he said, was committed to building two aircraft carriers, and it made little sense to start talking about scaling them down to smaller ships. He dismissed a report that one of the carriers might be switched to a helicopter carrier, instead of having the Joint Strike Fighter F35, the replacement for Harriers. “We can put more helicopters on the platform if we want but we will not be converting one of the 64,000-tonne carriers into a helicopter carrier,” he said.

The admiral said that the £4 billion carrier programme involved 10,000 workers and 57 British companies. He also pointed out that a considerable amount (about £1 billion) had already been spent on the two ships which will be called HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. The two carriers which would be around for 40 years, represented “a good investment”.

He also underlined the multiple roles to be played by the fleet of Astute class nuclear-powered submarines, the first of which set sail yesterday from Barrow-in-Furness for sea trials.

Admiral Stanhope regretted that the Astute programme was four years late, but he said this was because Britain had stopped building submarines for a period, and the skills had had to be rediscovered.

Astute decision
• The Royal Navy is to be given seven Astute-class submarines, although the defence review next year might lead to a scaling back of this capability. The Navy was initially promised eight vessels
• Measuring nearly 328ft (100m) from bow to stern, HMS Astute is longer than ten London buses, and will be able to circumnavigate the globe while submerged
• Two aircraft carriers cost £4 billion. A new Trident costs £20 billion
• Navy chiefs get upset when the campaign in Afghanistan is described as an army operation: 3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines, part of the Royal Navy, has served two six-month tours
Source: Times database

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World through a lens: Gare Loch, Friday 20 November

Sunday 22 November 2009


Gare Loch, Friday 20 November. Photograph: Andy Buchanan/AFP/Getty Images

It looks strangely like a welcome. Arms raised; one pair of hands extended as if in applause; and the one concession to colour, under the hodden skies pressing down on Scotland's Gare Loch, splashes from the rainbow flag being waved in the bottom left.

It is, however, a Greenpeace protest against the arrival at Faslane of the biggest hunter-killer ever commissioned, HMS Astute (S119).

We remembered our servicemen a fortnight ago. Perhaps we should also remember, in these days in which we have all apparently embraced or at least accepted a kind of homogenised orthodoxy to politics, that there still exist some stubborn, stubborn souls, held together for most of their lives now by stubborn sinews of principle. The Faslane peace camp was established 27 years ago, in June 1982. Protesters – not necessarily against the military per se, but against nuclear warheads – have canoed secretly at midnight up the sea lochs, swum under barriers, been involved in running chases over high fences and treacherous heather.

It is a strange and beautiful part of the world. The terrifying depth of the water – the reason that the naval base was blasted into place here under high cliffs – imposes on it, even in summer, a primeval air. And, over the years, a not entirely uneasy peace has settled between the two tribes, military and peacenik. They seldom mix, but there is little hatred, and the big decision, anyway, about Trident, will be taken a world away in Westminster. How could the two camps not roughly co-exist, having spent over a quarter-century watching each other over the same fence? And on the subs' trips home, the first human faces these submariners see after months at sea will still, so oddly, be those of men and women who have dedicated their lives to wishing them, and their jobs, out of existence.

[Malsua]

I doubt very seriously the claim that it can detect a boat leaving NY harbor from England.

I'm certain that this is a result of some math. For example, they rate the sensitivity of the Sonar. "I billionth of a decibal" or whatever the value is.

Then they use a known, like how how many decibals of noise underwater a ship makes. They do some math and determine that 3000 miles away, the sound is 1 billionth of a decibal. Put the two together and you get this asinine claim.

Sound, even in a liquid like water has an effective useful minimum level. A ship leaving NY harbor would be drowned out by the mid-atlantic vents, local boats, wave action and fish farts. What an utterly useless metric to measure sensativity.

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Driving Ivan crazy!

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It’s sub-thing special



Pride of the fleet ... Astute arrives at Faslane



Super sub heads our way

THE most powerful attack nuclear sub ever built for the Royal Navy takes to the seas


FULL steam ahead! The Navy's largest attack submarine arrived at its base on the Clyde yesterday.

The 7,400-tonne hunter-killer Astute - which contains an array of hi-tech weaponry - is the latest addition to the fleet at Faslane along with its 98 crew.


Crew ... standing on the sub

First Sea Lord Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope said the nuclear-powered sub was "hugely significant".

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Hunter killer sub Astute arrives at her home port

Tuesday, Nov 24, 2009

The biggest and most powerful attack submarine ever built for the Royal Navy – Astute – today sailed into her home base on the Clyde.


HMS Astute sailed into the Clyde and up the Gareloch to Faslane

Measuring nearly one hundred metres from bow to stern, Astute is longer than ten London buses. When fully loaded, she will displace 7,800 tonnes of sea water, equivalent to 65 blue whales.

The Astute submarine has the latest stealth technology, a world-beating sonar system and is armed with 38 torpedoes and missiles - more than any previous Royal Navy submarine. She will be able to circumnavigate the globe while submerged, and advanced nuclear technology means that she will never need to be refuelled.

Astute will be followed in due course by her sister submarines Ambush, Artful and Audacious. These four comprise the first of the expected seven submarines in the Astute Class. The Astute class will carry the potent Spearfish Heavyweight torpedo which can destroy submarines or surface ships, and Tomahawk cruise missiles that can hit inland targets with pinpoint accuracy. The boats will have 50 per cent more firepower than the existing Trafalgar class submarines they will succeed in service.

After touring Astute, the Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said: “This is a significant milestone for Astute as she arrives for the first time in her homeport of Faslane. The Astute class of submarines will deliver a step change in capability for defence in terms of anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare, protecting the deterrent, providing land attack and intelligence gathering. Astute will now begin a set of sea trials ahead of her full acceptance with the Royal Navy next year.”

First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Mark Stanhope, said: “The Astute Class is truly next generation. They are immensely powerful vessels and they will form a key part of our future programme, giving the Royal Navy the versatility and technical excellence needed to operate successfully across the globe.

“Astute is a joint warfighting asset and I look forward to her entry into service, along with that of her six sisters – which include Ambush, Artful and Audacious.”

Commodore Chris Hockley, the Naval Base Commander at HM Naval Base Clyde, said: “I am particularly pleased and excited at the prospect of welcoming Astute to her home Base today. There has been significant investment and preparations made over several years to prepare us for this occasion.

“The Clyde will become a centre of specialisation for submarines, and, of course, submarine training. With the arrival of Astute I cannot think of a more exciting time to be a submariner.”