HMS Astute Joins Royal Navy

HMS Astute, the lead ship in a powerful next-generation class of nuclear hunter-killer submarine, has been commissioned into the Royal Navy.

The UK's most powerful attack submarine, HMS Astute, has been welcomed into the Royal Navy today in a commissioning ceremony overseen by the boat's patron, the Duchess of Cornwall.

HMS Astute, which officially becomes 'Her Majesty's Ship' today, is quieter than any of her predecessors, meaning she has the ability to operate covertly and remain undetected in almost all circumstances despite being fifty per cent bigger than any attack submarine in the Royal Navy's current fleet.

The latest nuclear-powered technology means she will never need to be refuelled and can circumnavigate the world submerged, manufacturing the crew's oxygen from seawater as she goes.

The submarine has the capacity to carry a mix of up to 38 Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, and can target enemy submarines, surface ships and land targets with pinpoint accuracy, while her world-beating sonar system has a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,500km).

[snip...]

About HMS Astute
-She is 97 metres from bow to stern.
-She has a beam of 11.2 metres.
-She displaces 7,400 tonnes of seawater.
-Her cabling and pipework would stretch from Glasgow to Dundee.
-She is the first Royal Navy submarine not to have a traditional periscope, instead -using electro-optics to capture a 360-degree image of the surface for subsequent analysis by the commanding officer.
-Astute is the first submarine to have an individual bunk for each crew member.
-She manufactures her own oxygen from seawater as well as her own drinking water. -She could theoretically remain submerged for her 25-year life, if it were not for the need to restock the crew's food supplies.
-She is faster under the water than she is on the surface - capable of speeds in excess of 20 knots (37km/h), although her top speed is classified.
-Astute's crew of 98 are fed by five chefs who, on an average patrol, will serve up 18,000 sausages and 4,200 weetabix for breakfast.

By: Shelldrake