HMS Ambush is the second of Britain's new Astute class submarines, which will be the most powerful submarines ever to be operated by the Royal Navy. HMS Astute and HMS Artful are other members of the class.
AMBUSH – A BAE SYSTEMS’ SUB IN THE SUBURBS!
The forward section of new Royal Navy submarine HMS Ambush goes past people's houses in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, the town where it is being built, as it goes to Devonshire Dock Hall - the largest shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe.
The 235 tonne forward section of Ambush, the second of the Astute class submarines being built by BAE Systems in Barrow in Furness, North West England took to the road last Thursday, 11 May.
The massive steel construction, which is the height of a 4-storey house, was carried on a 48-wheeled Scheurerle transporter on the quarter of a mile journey from the Barrow site’s new assembly facility to the Devonshire Dock Hall where the hull of the 7,800 tonne first of class Astute nuclear-powered attack submarine is already complete.
The forward end construction will join 7 other sections of Ambush already being fitted out in the Devonshire Dock Hall - the largest shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe. Covering an area of 25,000 square metres, the hall is some 51 metres high.
Astute-class submarines will be the most advanced and powerful the Royal Navy has ever operated and will play a key role in the UK’s defences for decades to come. They form part of a substantial modernisation programme, as outlined in the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, that will enhance the capability of the UK’s Royal Navy through its emphasis on fewer but more capable platforms.
The project is one of the most complex engineering challenges in the UK, involving the production of over 7,000 design drawings, 10,000 separate design and engineering requirements and the installation of 23,000 pipes. Each boat has a sonar suite which has the processing power of 200,000 laptop computers.
Once deployed, Astute class submarines are designed not to require refuelling throughout their service life – over 25 years – and can patrol for 90 days, remaining undetected thousands of miles from home and hundreds of metres underwater.
The pressure hull is a 97 metre long cylinder which, when submerged, must withstand pressure equivalent to 400 family saloon cars weighing down on every square metre of surface area.
Since a revised programme for the construction of the Astute class submarines was agreed with the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems has met or exceeded every production milestone.
The first milestone for 2006 – bringing on line the switchboards which deliver electrical power to the submarine’s complex operational systems – was achieved last month some 18 days ahead of schedule.
The first Astute-class submarine is due to be launched in Summer 2007, and will be handed over to the UK Royal Navy in August 2008.
http://www.baesystems.com/newsroom/2006/may/150506news5.htm
AMBUSH – A BAE SYSTEMS’ SUB IN THE SUBURBS!
The forward section of new Royal Navy submarine HMS Ambush goes past people's houses in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, the town where it is being built, as it goes to Devonshire Dock Hall - the largest shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe.
The 235 tonne forward section of Ambush, the second of the Astute class submarines being built by BAE Systems in Barrow in Furness, North West England took to the road last Thursday, 11 May.
The massive steel construction, which is the height of a 4-storey house, was carried on a 48-wheeled Scheurerle transporter on the quarter of a mile journey from the Barrow site’s new assembly facility to the Devonshire Dock Hall where the hull of the 7,800 tonne first of class Astute nuclear-powered attack submarine is already complete.
The forward end construction will join 7 other sections of Ambush already being fitted out in the Devonshire Dock Hall - the largest shipbuilding complex of its kind in Europe. Covering an area of 25,000 square metres, the hall is some 51 metres high.
Astute-class submarines will be the most advanced and powerful the Royal Navy has ever operated and will play a key role in the UK’s defences for decades to come. They form part of a substantial modernisation programme, as outlined in the Government’s Defence Industrial Strategy, that will enhance the capability of the UK’s Royal Navy through its emphasis on fewer but more capable platforms.
The project is one of the most complex engineering challenges in the UK, involving the production of over 7,000 design drawings, 10,000 separate design and engineering requirements and the installation of 23,000 pipes. Each boat has a sonar suite which has the processing power of 200,000 laptop computers.
Once deployed, Astute class submarines are designed not to require refuelling throughout their service life – over 25 years – and can patrol for 90 days, remaining undetected thousands of miles from home and hundreds of metres underwater.
The pressure hull is a 97 metre long cylinder which, when submerged, must withstand pressure equivalent to 400 family saloon cars weighing down on every square metre of surface area.
Since a revised programme for the construction of the Astute class submarines was agreed with the UK Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems has met or exceeded every production milestone.
The first milestone for 2006 – bringing on line the switchboards which deliver electrical power to the submarine’s complex operational systems – was achieved last month some 18 days ahead of schedule.
The first Astute-class submarine is due to be launched in Summer 2007, and will be handed over to the UK Royal Navy in August 2008.
http://www.baesystems.com/newsroom/2006/may/150506news5.htm