LONDON, United Kingdom — The United Kingdom plans to expand its fleet of nuclear-powered, conventionally armed attack submarines to as many as 12 under the AUKUS programme. The expansion will take place as the Royal Navy completes its seven-boat Astute-class programme and moves to the next-generation SSN-AUKUS class.
The SSN-AUKUS submarines are expected to enter service from the late 2030s and will become the mainstay of the UK's future attack submarine fleet. The commitment to up to 12 boats was confirmed in the 2025 Strategic Defence Review and reaffirmed in the 2026 Defence Investment Plan, with the programme covered by a ring-fenced nuclear allocation.
SSN-AUKUS is being developed by the UK, United States and Australia through the AUKUS partnership. It is based on a British design incorporating technology from all three countries. Both Britain and Australia will operate the class, while the programme will help Australia develop the industrial capability needed to support and eventually build its own submarines.
The submarines will use nuclear propulsion but will be conventionally armed. The design is expected to incorporate US technology, including a vertical launching system (VLS) for land-attack missiles and shared combat systems. They will remain separate from the Dreadnought-class ballistic missile submarines, which will carry the UK's independent nuclear deterrent.
The current Astute-class submarines protect the UK's nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines during deterrence patrols and conduct wider defence and intelligence missions.
Construction of the first UK SSN-AUKUS submarine is due to begin with steel-cutting at BAE Systems' Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in 2027. The Ministry of Defence aims to eventually reach a production rate of one new submarine every 18 months as capacity expands.
The programme is part of a wider renewal of the UK's Defence Nuclear Enterprise, which manages hundreds of projects covering submarines, nuclear warheads, fuel and supporting infrastructure. Its portfolio includes two active submarine construction programmes, a future class in design, the Astraea replacement warhead programme and a new nuclear fuels programme.
The UK has invested around £6 billion in critical infrastructure at Barrow and Derby to support continuous submarine production. Australia has committed £2.4 billion to expand capacity at the Rolls-Royce site in Derby, which will produce reactors for both British and Australian submarines. Four nuclear reactors are already under construction there.
BAE Systems currently employs about 13,500 people at Barrow, while Rolls-Royce Submarines employs around 4,000 people. Babcock provides submarine maintenance and support at Devonport, while Sheffield Forgemasters produces specialised steel castings and forgings for submarine reactor cores.
At peak, the SSN-AUKUS programme is expected to support around 21,000 jobs across the UK and generate multi-billion-pound investment in British industry.
The wider Defence Nuclear Enterprise currently supports an estimated 47,600 jobs, with demand expected to rise to around 65,000 by 2030. Its supply chain includes more than 6,000 British companies.
To meet future workforce requirements, the UK government and industry plan to double defence nuclear apprentice and graduate intakes, creating 22,000 apprenticeships and 9,000 graduate positions over the next decade.
The AUKUS programme is intended to strengthen defence and industrial cooperation between the three countries, improve information and technology sharing, and increase supply-chain resilience while expanding the UK's capacity to build and support nuclear-powered submarines.
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