Vanguard-class submarine

	HMS Vanguard at Faslane, 2010
Class overview
Builders	Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, Barrow-in-Furness, England
Operators	Royal Navy
Preceded by	Resolution class
Succeeded by	Dreadnought class
Cost	£15 billion for 4 units ; £3.75 billion per unit;
Built	1986–1998
In service	1993–present
Completed	4
Active	4
General characteristics
Type	Nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine
Displacement	Submerged: 15,900 t (15,600 long tons; 17,500 short tons)
Length	149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam	12.8 m (42 ft 0 in)
Draught	12 m (39 ft 4 in)
Propulsion	1 × Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor,; 2 × GEC turbines; 27,500 shp (20.5 MW); 1 × shaft, pump jet propulsor; 2 × auxiliary retractable propulsion motors; 2 × Allen turbo generators (6 MW); 2 × Paxman diesel alternators; 2,700 shp (2.0 MW);
Speed	Over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph), submerged
Range	Limited only by food and mechanical components
Complement	135
Sensors and ; processing systems	BAE Systems SMCS; Kelvin Hughes Type 1007 I-band navigation radar; Thales Underwater Systems Type 2054 composite sonar suite comprising: ; Marconi/Ferranti Type 2046 towed array sonar ; Type 2043 hull-mounted active and passive search sonar ; Type 2082 passive intercept and ranging sonar; Pilkington Optronics CK51 search periscope; Pilkington Optronics CH91 attack periscope;
Electronic warfare ; & decoys	Two SSE Mk10 launchers for Type 2066 and Type 2071 torpedo decoys; RESM Racal UAP passive intercept;
Armament	4 × 21-inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes for:; Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes; 16 × ballistic missile tubes for:; 8–16 Lockheed Trident II D5 SLBMs (carrying up to 8 warheads each);

The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and comprises four vessels: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems. All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde (HMS Neptune), 40 km (25 mi) west of Glasgow, Scotland.

Since the decommissioning of the Royal Air Force WE.177 free-fall thermonuclear weapons during March 1998, the four Vanguard submarines are the sole platforms for the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons. Each submarine is armed with up to 16 UGM-133 Trident II missiles. The class is scheduled to be replaced starting in the early 2030s with the Dreadnought-class submarine.

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