nuclear-news

Britain’s very expensive new gee whiz nuclear submarine

While the $10 billion project is delayed and nearly $2.2 billion over budget, Britain in its latest defense review nevertheless decided to go ahead with the full complement of seven sub orders.

Meet Britain’s new sub-sea war machine, LONDON, Dec. 16 (UPI) — It can hit enemies more than 1,200 miles away, its nuclear reactor could power an entire city and it makes less noise than a baby dolphin — meet HMS Ambush, Britain’s new super submarine.The British navy’s largest-ever nuclear sub was officially named Thursday during a ceremony at a BAE Systems shipyard in the northwestern English seaport of Barrow-in-Furness……..

The company has been building the Astute class submarine, the first of which, the HMS Astute, was launched in 2007. The HMS Ambush is the second submarine of the Astute class, with five more being built over the next decade. While the $10 billion project is delayed and nearly $2.2 billion over budget, Britain in its latest defense review nevertheless decided to go ahead with the full complement of seven sub orders.

The HMS Astute dominated headlines when it ran aground on a sandbank off the Isle of Skye in October. Bad luck continued when a tug collided with the sub during the rescue and another technical failure at sea. The incident cost at least $12 million

Meet Britain’s new sub-sea war machine – UPI.com

December 17, 2010 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | UK, weapons and war