Imagine the most hostile environment on Earth. The crushing black cold of the deepest ocean. For man in the exploration of his home planet, the seas still represent the final frontier and in many ways a journey into the depths is more challenging than a voyage into space.
Of course, operating in such an unforgiving place calls for some remarkable engineering solutions. Especially when the submariners are entrusted with the ultimate safety and security of our territory.
Nuclear submarines (SSN) and Strategic Ballistic Nuclear submarines (SSBN) represent the most powerful warships in the world and are the most complex vehicles devised by man, patrolling the oceans 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and contributing to national and global peace and security. Their stealth and endurance, speed and flexibility gives them unparalleled freedom to operate worldwide. Designed and built away from the public eye, and then operated in some of the most remote places known to man, submarines are by their very nature a hidden asset when it comes to national defence. But we should take every opportunity we can to celebrate technology and innovation of this calibre.
A new generation
The Astute Class submarine, designed and built by BAE Systems, is a next generation nuclear powered submarine that will be the largest and most able attack submarine that the Royal Navy has operated, with a performance to rival any in the world. Astute is a potent and invisible threat, a stealthy protector in our territorial waters and in the depths of the open oceans.
