See HMS Astute for other ships of the same name.

Astute on the shiplift after launch Astute on the shiplift after launch
Career United Kingdom
Ordered:	March 1997
Builder:	BAE Systems Submarine Solutions
Laid down:	January 2001
Launched:	8 June 2007
Commissioned:	2009 (planned)
Status:	Launched
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:	circumnavigation 40 times without refuelling
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 Limited Successor IFF system
Armament:	six 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes, 38 Spearfish torpedoes, UGM-84 Harpoon and Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles, naval mines
Notes:

HMS Astute (S119) is the lead ship of her class of nuclear-powered Fleet submarines. Astute was ordered from GEC's Marconi Marine (now BAE Systems Submarine Solutions) on 17 March 1997. She was laid down on January 31, 2001, 100 years to the day since the keel was laid down for Holland 1, the first Royal Navy submarine. The vessel was built at BAE's submarine facility in Barrow and was launched on 8 June 2007 by The Duchess of Cornwall.

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. When commissioned, Astute will be one of the most advanced submarines in the world.

Technology

The 7,675-ton Astute's nuclear reactor will not need to be refuelled during the boat's 25 year service. Since the submarine can purify water and air, it will be able to circumnavigate the planet without resurfacing. The main limit is that the submarine will only be able to carry three months supply of food for 98 officers and enlisted men. Its sonar is so sensitive that it can detect and identify a ship setting sail from New York whilst in dock at Portsmouth, it can also pin point targets half way across the world using Tomahawk cruise missiles.^[1]

Ship's Launch

HMS Astute was launched at BAE's submarine facility in Barrow-in-Furness on 8 June 2007 by The Duchess of Cornwall^[2] and the vessel is due to be handed over to the Royal Navy in August 2008.^[3] The launch attracted more than 10,000 spectators^[4]. It is the first submarine built in the UK since HMS Vengeance, which was launched in 1998.

Project management

The launching of Astute was 43 months later than originally planned and the Astute class were £900 million over budget. This was due in part to outdated practices at the construction site. Many of these were corrected when Murray Easton was installed as the new boss at the construction site.^[1] He implemented several changes to speed up the project: Psychologists were called to improve communication and management effectiveness. He also lowered the manpower requirements by using US submarine construction methods, specifically those of the Electric Boat company. For example, the sections of the submarine were built vertically so that gravity could assist during the assembly.<ref name="bbc20070507" />

References

External links

• Naval-technology.com on the Astute class

•  • [ e] Astute-class submarine
Astute | Ambush | Artful | Audacious
List of submarines of the Royal Navy List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy