Astute-Class Submarine

The Astute class is the Royal Navy's latest class of nuclear-powered fleet submarines, intended to replace the older Trafalgar class, with the lead boat HMS Astute commissioned in 2010 and further boats entering service since. Displacing up to 7,800 tonnes submerged and powered by a Rolls-Royce PWR2 pressurized water reactor driving a pump-jet propulsor, each boat carries six 21-inch torpedo tubes with stowage for up to 38 weapons, including Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles. Measuring 97 meters in length with a crew of around 98 and an endurance of roughly 90 days at sea, the class was the first nuclear submarine design built entirely using three-dimensional computer modeling, and seven boats are planned in total, with six completed and one still under construction.