Rear Admiral Andy Perks

As Director Submarines, Andy Perks is the Royal Navy’s Submarine Force Generator and Operating Duty Holder; responsible for all in-service submarine capability, availability, and collective training. This includes oversight of the Submarine Flotilla, Clyde and Devonport Naval Bases, and a broad portfolio of associated major change programmes. As Rear Admiral Submarines, he is the professional head of the Submarine Service and Head of Fighting Arm.

Andy joined the Royal Navy as a Submarine Warfare Officer in November 2003, after reading an Engineering Masters at Liverpool University and travelling around Australia and Asia for two years. Awarded the College Sword on passing out from Britannia Royal Naval College, subsequent warfare and submarine training culminated in him gaining his dolphins in HMS TRENCHANT in 2006. After back-toback deployments to the West Atlantic and Mediterranean, he transferred to the Weapon Engineering branch and quickly returned to TRENCHANT as the Deputy Weapon Engineer Officer, undertaking successful deployments in the Middle East as the UK’s Tomahawk-ready SSN. He then spent two years in Naval Intelligence within the NSTP30 team, deploying as the lead acoustic intelligence technical sea rider on five operational patrols within an 18-month period spanning all active submarine theatres of operation. On promotion to Lieutenant Commander in 2012, Andy returned to sea as the Weapon Engineer Officer in HMS TORBAY; generating the platform from very deep maintenance to high-tempo operations in the Mediterranean and Middle East. He then spent 18 months as a FOST sea trainer, training crews in all classes of RN submarines.

Promoted to Commander in 2016, he attended Advanced Command and Staff Course at the UK Defence Academy. On completion, he spent three years in the Submarine Delivery Agency. Initially, as the Deputy Team Leader of Submarine Combat Systems Delivery Team, he designed and implemented a far-reaching transformation programme in 18 months, for which he was awarded an MBE in the Queen’s New Year Honours List in 2020. He then spent six months working on the CEO’s staff. Promoted to Captain in 2020, he moved to Navy Command as Head of UWB Capability before being promoted to Commodore in January 2022 in the role of Deputy Director UWB Capability. During his four years as Defence’s UWB capability lead, he drove transformational change – defining long-term strategies for all undersea warfare disciplines and leading the introduction of Seabed Warfare into the Royal Navy, multiple autonomy initiatives, and numerous high-profile international collaborations. In April 2024, he assumed the role of Director Submarines on promotion to Rear Admiral.