According to information published by the US DoD on December 29, 2022, the NAVSUP FLC Norfolk SUPSHIP Groton team is providing transportation management for the movement of components of the Strategic Weapons System to the United Kingdom.
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The first pressure hull unit for Dreadnought Boat 1 being moved into BAE Systems Submarines' Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow-in-Furness, UK, on 30 November 2022. (Picture source: BAE Sytems)
According to Transportation Manager Melanie Foreman, the first parts in support of the NAVSEA Columbia Class program have arrived in the UK. Overall, the team is responsible for the shipment of 48 outfitted missile tubes from the US to the UK.
The missile tube are shared between the American USS Columbia class submarine and the UK’s HMS Dreadnought class under the Common Missile Compartment (CMC) program.
She added that the UK intends to buy four ship sets of outfitted missile tube, with each submarine having 12 tubes.
Cooperation of this type between the two countries dates back to the 1960s and the Polaris Sales agreement. These missile tubes have been designed so the UK can build and integrate them into their new submarines.
Foreman says the delivery of the CMC took years of preparations and the missile tubes required for the first Dreadnought hull were delivered to the UK earlier this year.
About the Dreadnought class submarines
Although commonly referred to as the renewal or replacement of Trident, the Dreadnought program is about the design, development and manufacture of four new Dreadnought class ballistic missile submarines (SSBN) that will replace the current Vanguard class SSBN and maintain the UK’s posture of Continuous at Sea Deterrence (CASD).
Under changes introduced in the 2015 SDSR, the first submarine is now expected to enter service in the early 2030s and will have a service life of at least 30 years. The four SSBNs will be named HMS Dreadnought, HMS Valiant, HMS Warspite, and HMS King George VI.
At 152.9 meters long and with a displacement of 17,200 tonnes, the Dreadnought class will be the largest submarine ever built for the Royal Navy.
Each boat will contain 26.4 miles of pipework and more than 20,000 cables stretching 215 miles. It has 130 crew members, including 3 chefs and 1 doctor.
