Dreadnought-class submarine

	Artist's rendering of Dreadnought-class submarine
Class overview
Builders	BAE Systems, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Vanguard class
Cost	£31 billion (2016) lifetime cost of total programme (est.); £7.75 billion (2016) per unit (est.);
Built	First expected by early 2030s
Planned	4
Building	3
Completed	0
Active	0
General characteristics
Type	Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	17,200 t (16,900 long tons; 19,000 short tons)
Length	153.6 metres (504 ft)
Beam	12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	Rolls-Royce PWR3 nuclear reactor, turbo-electric drive, pump-jet
Range	Limited only by food and mechanical components
Complement	130
Armament	4 × 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes for: Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes; 12 × ballistic missile tubes for:; 8 to 12 Lockheed Trident II D5 SLBMs (carrying up to 8 warheads each);

The Dreadnought class is the future replacement for the Vanguard class of ballistic missile submarines. Like their predecessors they will carry Trident II D-5 missiles. The Vanguard submarines entered service in the United Kingdom in the 1990s with an intended service life of 25 years. Their replacement is necessary if the Royal Navy is to maintain a continuous at-sea deterrent (CASD), the principle of operation behind the Trident system.

Provisionally named "Successor" (being the successor to the Vanguard class SSBNs), it was officially announced in 2016 that the first of class would be named Dreadnought, and that the class would be the Dreadnought class. The next three boats will be called Valiant, Warspite and King George VI.

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