HMS Astute (S119)
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 BAE Systems' Artist Impression |
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| Career |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | March 1997 |
| Laid down: | January 2001 |
| Launched: | 8 June 2007 (planned) |
| Commissioned: | 2009 (planned) |
| Status: | Under construction |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 7800 tonnes submerged |
| Length: | 97 m (323 ft) |
| Beam: | 11.3 m (37 ft) |
| Draught: | 10 m (33 ft) |
| Propulsion: | Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor (with full submarine life core), MAN (Paxman) 1900 kilowatt diesel generator |
| Speed: | 29 knots (54 km/h) submerged |
| Range: | 7,000 nautical miles / 13,000 km (at economical speed) |
| Complement: | 98 officers and men normally, capacity of 109 |
| Sensors and processing systems: | Thales Underwater Systems Sonar 2076, Atlas Hydrographic DESO 25 depth-finding echosounder, Two Thales Optronics CM010 periscopes, Raytheon Systems Ltd Successor IFF system |
| Armament: | six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 38 Spearfish torpedoes, UGM-84 Harpoon and Tomahawk Block III cruise missiles, naval mines |
HMS Astute (S119) (possibly S120) is the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered attack submarines. Astute was ordered from GEC's Marconi Marine (now BAE Systems Submarines) on 17 March 1997. She was laid down on January 31, 2001, 100 years to the day since the keel was laid down for USS Holland, the first modern submarine. The vessel is being built at BAE's submarine facility in Barrow.
Astute is the second submarine of the Royal Navy to be named for the characteristic of shrewdness and discernment. The first was HMS Astute (P447), an Amphion class submarine launched during World War II.
As of June of 2006, construction and development of the Astute was 43 months late and £900 million over budget.
| Name | Pennant number | Laid down | Launched | Commissioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Astute | S119 | 31st January 2001 | 8th June 2007 [1] | 2009 |
See HMS Astute for other ships of the same name.
[edit] References
- ^ BAE Systems announces new early launch date for Astute. BAE Systems (2006-05-26). Retrieved on March 9, 2007.
[edit] External links
| Astute-class submarine |
| List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy |
