Policy paper

Dreadnought submarine programme: factsheet

Updated 19 February 2018

Government and parliament

• the protection and defence of the United Kingdom is the primary responsibility of Her Majesty’s government
• the government is committed to maintaining minimum continuous at sea deterrence to deter the most extreme threats to the UK and to protect our vital interests; it was elected in May 2015 on a clear manifesto to build 4 new nuclear armed submarines, the first of which was named Dreadnought, to replace the current 4 Vanguard class submarines
• Parliament has voted in support of the government’s plans 4 times, once in March 2007, in January 2015, in November 2015 and most recently in July 2016.
• the government has considered alternative systems but concluded a ‘4 boat system’ is the most cost effective way to deliver continuous deterrence, see the Trident alternatives review

Context

• the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent remains essential to our security

• our independent nuclear deterrent exists to deter the most extreme threats to our national security and way of life, helping to guarantee our security and that of our allies

• since the end of the Cold War there remain substantial nuclear arsenals in the world; the number of nuclear-armed states has increased and potential adversaries are modernising their conventional and nuclear forces; there remains the continuing risk of the further proliferation of nuclear weapons

• recent changes in the international security context remind us that we cannot relax our guard and we cannot rule out further shifts which would put us and our NATO allies, under grave threat; it would be irresponsible to assume that the UK will not in the foreseeable future be confronted with the kinds of extreme threat to our security or way of life which nuclear weapons seek to deter

• continued retention of our independent nuclear deterrent is required to deter any aggressor; a minimum, credible, independent nuclear deterrent, based on continuous at sea deterrence, and assigned to NATO, remains vital; we are therefore making the necessary investment to sustain continuous at sea deterrence with the Dreadnought programme

• how the government will meet this commitment is set out in the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR)

Continuous at sea deterrence

• the United Kingdom has been protected 24 hours a day by a continuous at sea deterrent (CASD) known as Operation Relentless, since April 1969
• CASD is the minimal, credible and independent deterrent against aggression towards the United Kingdom
• the nuclear deterrent’s command and control system is fully independent; decision making and use of the system remains entirely sovereign to the UK and under political control
• the UK has declared our nuclear deterrent to the defence of the NATO Alliance since 1962, thereby contributing to the ultimate guarantee of collective Euro-Atlantic security
• 4 Resolution Class submarines operated between 1969 and 1996 and carried the Polaris nuclear missile system
• The first of the 4 Vanguard Class submarines became operational from 1992. They are due to continue serving until the 2030s and; carry the Trident strategic nuclear armed missile system
• 4 submarines guarantee that one is deployed operationally at any given time

What is the Dreadnought programme?

• Dreadnought is the British programme to replace the 4 Vanguard class submarines which have provided CASD since 1992, with 4 new submarines that will be built in the UK
• the 4 Dreadnought submarines will be introduced, on current plans from the 2030s onwards and have a lifespan of at least 30 years

The Trident missile

• the Dreadnought submarines will carry the Trident Missile System; Dreadnought will be armed with existing Trident missile stocks which will not need replacing until the 2040s

Current costs

• sustaining the nuclear deterrent in-service currently accounts for around 6% of the annual defence budget

Future costs

• our latest estimate is that manufacturing the 4 Dreadnought submarines is likely to cost a total of £31 billion (including inflation over the lifetime of the programme); we have also set a contingency of £10 billion

• this is a prudent estimate based on past experience of large, complex projects, such as the 2012 Olympics, Crossrail or High Speed 2

Jobs

• maintaining and sustaining the UK’s nuclear deterrent supports thousands of UK jobs and makes a significant contribution to the UK economy

Scotland

• Dreadnought’s base at Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde is one of the biggest employment sites in Scotland
• by 2020 Scotland will be home to all of the Royal Navy’s submarines
• 6,800 military and civilian personnel are employed at the base bringing significant local commerce; this will rise to 8,500 in the future

Obligations to the Non-Proliferation Treaty

• as a recognised Nuclear Weapon State, maintaining and renewing elements of the UK’s nuclear deterrent capability, such as the submarine, is fully consistent with our international obligations under the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty
• the government remains committed to creating the conditions where countries with nuclear weapons feel able to relinquish them
• the UK has a very strong record on nuclear disarmament, having reduced our stockpile by over 50% since the height of the Cold War
• the UK holds around 1% of the world’s total nuclear warhead stockpile
• the Dreadnought programme will not add to the number of nuclear warheads in service
• in January 2015 we announced that we had implemented the commitment we made in the 2010 SDSR to reduce the number of deployed warheads on each of submarine from 48 to 40, with no more than 120 operationally available warheads
• we remain committed to reducing the overall nuclear weapon stockpile to no more than 180 warheads by the mid-2020s.

Glossary

Term	Definition
Ballistic missile	A missile that is powered and guided only in its high arching ascent phase
Cold War	The period of political and military tension between 1945 and 1991
Continuous at sea deterrence (CASD)	The uninterrupted deployment of the UK’s nuclear deterrent at sea on board a submarine every day of the year, otherwise known as Operation Relentless
Deterrent	A measure taken by a state to deter hostile action by another state
Dreadnought	The lead boat and class name of the UK’s programme to build 4 new submarines to carry the UK’s Trident nuclear missile system
4 boat system	The method of rotating 4 submarines to ensure one is always operationally deployed
Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde	HMNB Clyde is the Royal Navy’s submarine base at Faslane, Scotland
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)	International treaty of which the UK is a member whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament
Nuclear Weapon State (NWS)	Nations recognised as nuclear weapon states by the NPT. These are: China, Russia, USA, France and the UK
Polaris Missile	The original nuclear missile system carried by Resolution Class submarines from 1969 until the 1990s
Resolution Class	The first class of submarines that delivered the UK’s continuous at sea deterrence
SDSR	The Strategic Defence and Security Review
SSBN	A nuclear-powered submarine armed with ballistic nuclear missiles (ship, submersible, ballistic, nuclear)
Trident Missile System	The nuclear missile system carried by Vanguard class submarines. It will also be carried by our class of new Dreadnought submarines
Vanguard class	The 4 submarines that currently deliver the UK’s CASD
Warhead	The nuclear explosive head of a missile

Related information

• UK nuclear deterrence: the facts