The Royal Navy’s New Astute-class Submarine Is Nearing Active Service
The Astute-class boats are the largest and most advanced attack submarines ever built for the Royal Navy.
Great Britain’s Royal Navy (RN) doesn’t have the power projection capabilities it did during the previous three centuries, so, to paraphrase the classic patriotic song, “Britannia no longer rules the waves.”
However, the RN remains a technologically capable force with well-trained and highly motivated sailors. This is best exemplified by the submarine force. Indeed, the last confirmed sinking of an enemy surface warship by a submarine was pulled off by a British submarine, namely the HMS Conqueror sinking the Argentine Navy General Belgrano during the 1982 Falklands War.
That RN submarine force is currently represented by the Astute-class boats, which are the largest and most advanced attack submarines ever built for the RN. The newest addition to the Astute family is the HMS Anson (Pennant No. S123).
The Astute-class and HMS Anson
The inspiration for this story comes to us via the Navy Lookout channel on MSN, in a video posted on or about April 4, 2025, titled “BAE Systems Unveils HMS Anson Submarine Rollout Event.” As stated by the text caption accompanying the video:
“Witness the impressive rollout of HMS Anson, the Royal Navy’s fifth Astute-class nuclear-powered submarine, as she emerges from the Devonshire Dock Hall at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness. This milestone marks a significant step in her journey toward active service.”
The video features interviews with multiple personnel involved in the building of the boat. The first voice we hear (speaking offscreen) is Brion Hurley, Astute delivery director – in water phase:
“It’s a fantastic time, to be launching a boat in the 150th year of this business and then delivering a capability that we are going to deliver to the Royal Navy to allow them to protect the nation is phenomenal and it’s something that spurs me on and drives me on to deliver.”
The video concludes with comments from Anson’s first skipper, Commander David “Bing” Crosby:
“It’s a huge milestone but it’s also evidence of what we can achieve when we work together. It’s a global pandemic and everything we had to do and our families have had to do to support this launch and this build has been nothing short of amazing.”
HMS Anson Brief History and Specifications
Built by BAE Systems, HMS Anson was laid down on October 13, 2011, launched on April 20, 2021, christened on December 11, 2020, by Julie Weale (who is also interviewed in the aforementioned video), and commissioned on August 31, 2022. Her motto is “Nil Desperandum (never despair),” which coincidentally is also the motto of the guided missile destroyer HMS Dauntless (D33).
Anson is the eighth RN vessel to bear the name, named for former Admiral of the Fleet Lord George Anson, 1st Baron Anson (1697-1762). Anson and its sister ships have the following specifications and stats:
- Displacement: 7,400 tons surfaces; 7,800 tons submerged
- Hull Length: 97 meters (318 ft 3 in)
- Beam Width: 11.3 meters (37 ft 1 in)
- Draught: 10 meters (32 ft 10 in)
- Speed: 30 knots (56 km/h; 35 mph)
- Test Depth: In excess of 300 meters (980 feet)
- Range: Unlimited
- Crew Complement: Ninety-eight commissioned officers and enlisted sailors
- Armament: Six 21-inch 533mm torpedo tubes with a maximum stowage capacity of thirty-eight Spearfish Mod-1 heavyweight torpedoes or Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles
The Way Forward?
Anson’s date for official entry into operational service is still to be determined. Meanwhile, there are currently two more Astute-class subs in the works:
- HMS Agamemnon (S124) was launched on October 3, 2024, is projected for commissioning in late 2025, and is currently under the command of the aforementioned CDR “Bing” Crosby.
- HMS Achilles (S125) was laid down on May 14, 2018, with a launch date to be determined. It is projected to be commissioned in late 2026.
About the Author: Christian D. Orr
Christian D. Orr was previously a Senior Defense Editor for National Security Journal (NSJ) and 19FortyFive. He is a former Air Force Security Forces officer, Federal law enforcement officer, and private military contractor (with assignments worked in Iraq, the United Arab Emirates, Kosovo, Japan, Germany, and the Pentagon). Chris holds a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Southern California (USC) and an M.A. in Intelligence Studies (concentration in Terrorism Studies) from American Military University (AMU). He has also been published in The Daily Torch, The Journal of Intelligence and Cyber Security, and Simple Flying. Last but not least, he is a Companion of the Order of the Naval Order of the United States (NOUS). If you’d like to pick his brain further, you can ofttimes find him at the Old Virginia Tobacco Company (OVTC) lounge in Manassas, Virginia, partaking of fine stogies and good quality human camaraderie.
Image: Ministry of Defence, OGL v1.0, Wikimedia Commons.