The UK government has awarded BAE Systems a £5.9 billion ($7.9 billion) contract to continue construction of the Royal Navy’s Dreadnought-class nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, marking another major milestone in the country’s strategic nuclear deterrent modernization program.
The contract will fund ongoing work on the first submarine, Dreadnought, which remains on track for delivery to the Royal Navy in the early 2030s. It also supports continued construction of the second boat, Valiant, while advancing fabrication and outfitting activities for the third and fourth submarines, Warspite and King George VI, which are currently in the early stages of production.
The award forms part of a broader £8.4 billion package approved by the UK Parliament for the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to support the country’s nuclear deterrent enterprise.
The four-vessel Dreadnought class will replace the Royal Navy’s existing Vanguard-class submarines, ensuring the continuation of the UK’s Continuous At Sea Deterrent (CASD) capability. Once completed, the new submarines will be the largest, most powerful and technologically advanced ever built for the Royal Navy.
The programme is being delivered through collaboration between BAE Systems, the Ministry of Defence and the UK’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise, which oversees the operation, maintenance and renewal of the nation’s nuclear deterrent.
“The Dreadnought programme is of vital strategic importance to the UK, underpinning the security of our nation and our allies for decades to come,” said Charles Woodburn, Chief Executive of BAE Systems.
“Its delivery depends on the strength of our national industrial base, with thousands of skilled workers right across the country playing their part in the mission to deliver this critical capability to the Royal Navy,” he added.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting described the investment as a key step in maintaining the country’s nuclear deterrent while supporting domestic industry.
“Our nuclear-armed submarines are essential to keeping the UK secure, acting as the ultimate deterrent to our adversaries in an increasingly dangerous world,” Streeting said.
“This milestone investment secures our commitment to deliver Dreadnought-class submarines by backing British industry while supporting thousands of skilled jobs,” he added.
According to BAE Systems, the Dreadnought programme currently supports around 30,000 jobs across the United Kingdom, including more than 7,000 employees working directly on the project at the company’s Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.
The company said its supply chain spending on the programme reached £1.3 billion during the last financial year, bringing total expenditure across more than 1,500 UK suppliers to £8.9 billion since the programme began.
BAE Systems has also continued to expand its submarine manufacturing capability in Barrow-in-Furness, investing approximately £1 billion in its facilities while increasing its workforce from 11,000 to around 16,000 employees over the past four years.
The investment comes as the UK continues long-term modernization of its strategic deterrent, with the Dreadnought programme representing one of the country’s largest and most significant defence procurement efforts.