More than 5,000 jobs are set to be created after the Ministry of Defence awarded £3.95bn of funding to BAE Systems for the next phase of the º£½ÇÊÓƵ's nuclear-powered attack submarine programme, known as SSN-Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS.
SSN-Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS will be the largest, most powerful and advanced attack submarines the Royal Navy has ever operated and will eventually replace the Astute class, which BAE Systems builds at its site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The funding follows the Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS announcement in March by the leaders of Australia, the º£½ÇÊÓƵ and the United States.
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Having started early design work in 2021, the £3.95bn funding will cover development work to 2028, enabling BAE Systems to move into the detailed design phase of the programme and begin to procure long-lead items. Manufacture will start towards the end of the decade with the first SSN-Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS boat due to be delivered in the late 2030s.
The award will also fund significant infrastructure investment at BAE Systems' site in Barrow-in-Furness, investment in its supply chain and recruitment of a more than 5,000 people.
Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: "This multi-billion-pound investment in the Aº£½ÇÊÓƵUS submarine programme will help deliver the long term hunter-killer submarine capabilities the º£½ÇÊÓƵ needs to maintain our strategic advantage and secure our leading place in a contested global order.
"I'm committed to backing our defence industry, because it’s only with the mission critical support of businesses like BAE Systems that the º£½ÇÊÓƵ can develop the advanced equipment our Armed Forces need to defend the British people in a more dangerous world."
Charles Woodburn, BAE Systems' chief executive, added: "We’re incredibly proud of our role in the delivery of this vitally important, tri-nation submarine programme.
"This funding reinforces the Government’s support to our º£½ÇÊÓƵ submarine enterprise and allows us to mature the design, and invest in critical skills and infrastructure to support our long-term national security."
