The United Kingdom has signed a contract with Rolls Royce to build a nuclear submarine worth 9 billion pounds. This was reported by UNN with reference to Bloomberg.
Details
According to the publication, the UK has signed a £9 billion ($11 billion) contract with Rolls Royce to design and manufacture nuclear reactors to power the country's submarine fleet.
As part of the agreement, Rolls-Royce Submarines Ltd. will also provide support services for nuclear reactors for submarines
The eight-year contract, called "Unity," will create more than 1,000 jobs and help save 4,000, it said.
According to Bloomberg , with this contract, the Labor government of Prime Minister Keir Starmer seeks to emphasize its commitment to the country's nuclear deterrent.
The Labor Party, under pressure from its political opponents to increase defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product from the current 2.3%, is seeking to strengthen its position in government on security, having promised during last year's election campaign that its commitment to Britain's nuclear deterrent is "absolute"
The contract is a boost for Rolls Royce, which in 2023 announced plans to nearly double the size of its submarine manufacturing plant in Derby to ramp up production to meet strong demand from the Royal Navy and the AUKUS defense partnership between the UK, US and Australia. The company is due to announce the deal at the Derby plant on Friday, January 24.
This long-term contract enables us to invest in the necessary skills, equipment and facilities to contribute to the protection of UK interests at home and abroad
"In the run-up to the July 4 election, Labour unveiled what it called a 'triple lock' commitment to the UK's nuclear deterrent in an attempt to show that Starmer had broken completely with his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, a longtime opponent of nuclear weapons who, as party leader, had been ambivalent at best in his support for the UK's arsenal. Starmer, on the other hand, has promised to maintain deterrence at sea "24 hours a day, 365 days a year," to supply all necessary future weapons upgrades and to build four new nuclear submarines," Bloomberg summarized.