Today Barrow shipyard belongs to BAE SYSTEMS - the second largest defence contractor in the world - and trades under the name BAE SYSTEMS Marine Limited. The Marine business also has shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun on the Clyde. Collectively, the shipyards have 400 years of shipbuilding expertise.
Marine at Barrow is now building the next generation of Fleet Nuclear Submarines Type SSN for the Royal Navy. These will be the Astute Class: SSN20 Astute, SSN21 Ambush and SSN22 Artful, the first of which is already starting to take shape in the Devonshire Dock Hall and scheduled to be launched by shiplift during 2004.
These submarines are being built to progressively replace the Swiftsure Class from around 2005 onwards. They are much larger and more capable fleet submarines that will be quieter, faster and need less crew. A major improvement is that the nuclear reactor will never need to be refuelled throughout the submarine's designed service life, saving time and cost and promoting safety in the environment.
The Prime Contract for these complex Fleet Nuclear Submarines is held by BAE SYSTEMS Astute Class Limited and is worth about £2 billion. The MOD Defence Procurement Agency has stated that it intends to order three more Astute Class submarines for the Royal Navy towards the end of 2002.
