CUMBRIA, UK (BNS): The keel of the first of the UK’s new Dreadnought submarine has been laid at BAE Systems’ Barrow-in-Furness shipyard on March 20, 2025.

HMS Dreadnought is the first of four Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines, which the BAE Systems is designing and building in Cumbria. The new class of submarines being dubbed as “the most powerful and technically advanced boats ever designed for the Royal Navy”,  will replace the Vanguard class submarines of the British Royal Navy.

The ceremonial event, attended by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, and Secretary of State for Defence, John Healey, marked a significant milestone in the programme to maintain the UK's Continuous at Sea Deterrent (CASD) and protect national security, an official statement released by the BAE Systems read.
 
The Dreadnought Class will begin to enter service in the early 2030s. CASD will be maintained throughout the transition from Vanguard to Dreadnought class, it said.

Steve Timms, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Submarines business, said: "Laying the keel for the first of class, HMS Dreadnought, is an incredibly proud moment for everyone across the Company, Defence Nuclear Enterprise and Royal Navy. It comes as the boat's last major unit prepares to make its way into the Devonshire Dock Hall for final integration, demonstrating the progress made across the programme to date.
 
The Dreadnought submarines will be the largest ever operated by the Royal Navy at 153.6 metres long – approximately the length of three Olympic swimming pools.
 
“Technological advances, changing threats and new methods of design and production mean the new boats will represent a significant step change compared to their predecessors. It is one of the largest and most complex engineering projects in the world,” BAE Systems said.
 
The Dreadnought Alliance, a partnership between BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and the Ministry of Defence's Submarine Delivery Agency, manages delivery of the UK's next nuclear deterrent platform.