ONE of the most advanced submarines Britain has ever built arrived at her new home in Scotland this week, marking another major milestone for the Royal Navy and the thousands of British workers behind the country’s submarine programme.
HMS Agamemnon, the sixth of the Royal Navy’s formidable Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines, arrived at HM Naval Base Clyde on Thursday after sailing from the BAE Systems shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness on September 25.
The arrival represented a proud moment for British engineering and the Royal Navy’s Submarine Service, with members of the Submarine Flotilla lining up to welcome the vessel and her crew to their new home.
Agamemnon has been built in Britain by BAE Systems at Barrow, the historic heart of the country’s submarine-building industry, while her nuclear reactor was produced by Rolls-Royce Submarines in Derby.
At 97 metres long and displacing around 7,400 tonnes, the Astute-class boats are the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.
Rear Admiral Andy Perks, Director Submarines, described Agamemnon’s arrival as a significant milestone for the Navy and paid tribute to the thousands of people involved in delivering her.
He said the submarine reflected the “dedication, skill and collaboration” of workers across Britain’s Defence Nuclear Enterprise and would provide a formidable warfighting capability for the United Kingdom.
The submarine is nuclear-powered but conventionally armed and is now undergoing an extensive programme of sea trials before joining the operational fleet.
Since leaving Barrow, her crew of around 100 Royal Navy submariners have been testing the boat’s speed, manoeuvrability, performance and seaworthiness.
Agamemnon also carried out her first dive at sea on the journey to Scotland, taking the plunge in the Inner Hebrides Exercise Areas while supported by a Royal Navy Merlin helicopter.
Commanding Officer Commander John Gabb said it was an “enormous privilege” to be the first person to command the vessel at sea.
He praised Agamemnon’s exceptionally quiet operation and world-class sonar and said the crew would spend the coming months learning the submarine’s capabilities as they prepared her for operations.
The timing of her arrival at the Clyde carried particular historical significance.
Agamemnon came alongside exactly 125 years after the launch of Holland 1, the Royal Navy’s first submarine, providing a remarkable link between the pioneering beginnings of Britain’s submarine service and the extraordinary technology available to today’s submariners.
British engineering beneath the waves
Agamemnon’s keel was laid at Barrow in July 2013, beginning a long and highly complex construction programme involving engineers, technicians, shipwrights and software specialists.
She was formally commissioned into the Royal Navy in the presence of His Majesty King Charles III on September 22, 2025, before successfully completing her first trim dive the following month.
The latest journey from Barrow to the Clyde takes the submarine another major step towards operational service.
The Astute class represents some of the most sophisticated military engineering undertaken in Britain.
Unlike earlier Royal Navy submarines, the boats do not use traditional optical periscopes, instead relying upon advanced video technology to scan their surroundings.
They can manufacture their own oxygen and drinking water while submerged and, according to the Royal Navy, are capable of circumnavigating the globe without surfacing.
Their nuclear propulsion provides extraordinary endurance, with Agamemnon’s Rolls-Royce reactor designed so that it will not require refuelling during the submarine’s operational life.
That endurance is matched by formidable conventional firepower.
Astute-class submarines carry Britain’s Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, giving them the ability to engage enemy submarines and ships as well as strike targets far inland.
The submarines also undertake intelligence-gathering missions, protect maritime task groups, support special forces and contribute to British, NATO and allied operations around the world.
Five Astute-class boats, HMS Astute, HMS Ambush, HMS Artful, HMS Audacious and HMS Anson, are already in service.
Once her trials and preparations are completed, Agamemnon will join them in the operational fleet.
The seventh and final Astute-class boat, HMS Achilles, is under construction at Barrow, ensuring Britain’s submarine-building expertise continues as work moves towards the next generation of attack submarines.
The Government says Britain’s wider Defence Nuclear Enterprise supports more than 47,000 jobs across the country, including thousands of highly skilled roles connected with submarine production. More than 14,000 roles in Barrow alone are supported by defence nuclear work.
Britain is also preparing for the eventual successor to the Astute class, the new SSN-AUKUS attack submarine being developed with Australia and the United States.
The new class will be based on a British design, with the Government planning for the Royal Navy ultimately to operate up to 12 SSN-AUKUS submarines as Britain maintains its position at the forefront of undersea warfare.
Commander of the Submarine Flotilla Commodore Ben Haskins described welcoming Agamemnon to the Clyde as a special moment for the Submarine Service.
He praised the professionalism and dedication of her crew and said the milestone was the beginning of a journey which would ultimately see the submarine carrying out operations around the world.
From the shipyards of Barrow to the nuclear engineering expertise of Derby and the submariners now preparing Agamemnon for service on the Clyde, the arrival of Britain’s newest hunter-killer submarine is a striking demonstration of the skills, technology and industrial capability that still exist across the United Kingdom.
Exactly 125 years after Britain’s first submarine was launched, another generation of Royal Navy submariners is preparing to take one of the world’s most sophisticated attack submarines beneath the waves.
Image: MOD Crown Copyright News / Editorial Licence.
