Official documents have made clear that the next generation of Royal Navy attack submarines will feature a Vertical Launch System (VLS) to launch their missiles.
A Foreign Military Sales (FMS) notification posted on the U.S State Department’s website revealed the U.K. has sought to purchase “technical assistance to the design and development of AUKUS-specific vertical deployment tubes.”
It made clear the request was related to “design and production of next generation, future class of nuclear-powered attack submarines developed for the Royal Australian Navy and United Kingdom Royal Navy, and developed as part of the trilateral security partnership between Australia, UK, and the U.S. (AUKUS).”
At present the Astute-class boats which the SSN-AUKUS submarines will eventually replace fire Tomahawk cruise missiles horizontally from their six torpedo tubes. A VLS system would allow the new boats to carry greater numbers and more modern variants of the cruise missiles.
New American Virginia-class submarines feature the Virginia Payload Module (VPM): four large-diameter tubes, each featuring seven cells capable of carrying cruise or hypersonic missiles, or alternative payloads including sensors and uncrewed underwater vehicles (UUVs).
The VPM is widely regarded as a future-proofed design, because its 87-inch diameter main tubes can more easily be adapted for future larger-bore weapons if required. The VLS being developed for the SSN-AUKUS boats is thought likely to prove a close derivative of this VPM system.
In the 2025 Strategic Defence Review, the U.K. Government committed to acquiring “up to 12” of the new SSN-AUKUS submarines.
Under Pillar I of the AUKUS agreement the first SSN-AUKUS boats are expected to begin replacing the Astute class from the late 2030s, while the first Australian variants — the country’s first nuclear powered boats — will be delivered in the early 2040s.
As an interim measure, and pending congressional approval, the United States intends to sell Australia three Virginia-class submarines, with the potential to sell up to two more if needed.
The boats for the next-generation U.S. Navy submarine programme, designated SSN(X), will differ but are expected to have many systems in common with the SSN-AUKUS vessels.
Officials have previously stated that the U.S.Navy wants the SSN(X) subs to combine the speed and payload of its fast and heavily armed Seawolf-class design, the acoustic stealth and sensor capabilities of the Virginia class, and the operational availability and service life of its Columbia-class boats.
All these factors point to a platform larger than the existing 7,800-ton Virginia-class boats, and potentially bigger than the Seawolf class, which have a submerged displacement of more than 9,100 tons.
- You can read more details on the U.S. Department of State website