The dry-dock phase for the £560 million overhaul and upgrade of Royal Navy ballistic missile submarine HMS Victorious has begun.
As per a recent press statement, the Trident-nuclear-missile-carrying Vanguard-class submarine which in tandem with her three sister vessels provides Britain’s Continuous At-Sea Deterrent is now out of the water at HMS Devonport Naval Base.
Victorious has been at the Plymouth base since the summer of 2023, when her scheduled refit began; the first phase of her maintenance programme was carried out while she was still afloat.
Work on Devonport’s 9 Dock, which has been upgraded to enable the next stage of the Deep Maintenance programme, has now been completed and the 16,000-tonne submarine has been transferred inside.
Victorious has been in service since the mid-1990s; work being carried out includes overhauling and checking safety systems alongside a series of capability upgrades to enable her to fulfil her deterrence role into the 2030s, when she and the other Vanguard-class boats are scheduled to be replaced by the Dreadnought-class submarines currently under construction.
HMS Victorious’ Commanding Officer Commander Simon Church commented: The afloat phase has seen some extremely innovative engineering solutions and several in-water firsts for a ballistic missile submarine, including reactor de-pressurisation and removal of missile tube muzzle hatches, which has only been achieved by working together as one team.
He added: While there have been some initial challenges, the dedication and professionalism of our crew and our Babcock partners, has ensured that we are making every effort to maintain momentum.
Captain Ben Stafford, Superintendent Submarines added: Everyone in the Defence Nuclear Enterprise recognises the importance of this maintenance period to the U.K.’s national security and that is why our work to ensure HMS Victorious returns to operations as soon as possible matters.
-
You can read more details on the Royal Navy website
