HMS Anson, the fifth of the new Astute-class submarines to join the Royal Navy fleet, has today been commissioned at a ceremony in Barrow.
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News Release, Whitehall, 31 August 2022: [embargoed until 16:45] The world’s most advanced hunter-killer submarine was today welcomed into the Royal Navy fleet at a ceremony in Barrow. HMS Anson is £1.3bn of both naval stealth and striking power – able to gather vital intelligence, protect other Royal Navy vessels from threats above and below the waves and destroy enemy military infrastructure with pinpoint accuracy.
The submarine was commissioned at BAE Systems’ yard in Cumbria in front of her crew and their families, plus naval leaders, Secretary of State for Defence Ben Wallace, Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Australian Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles, and the sponsor (patron), Julie Weale. Anson is the fifth of the new Astute-class submarines to join the Royal Navy fleet, joining HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful and Audacious.
The boat’s first Commanding Officer, Commander David Crosby, said that given the effort, skill and enterprise invested in constructing the submarine – made more challenging over the past two and a half years by the restrictions imposed by the pandemic – “HMS Anson would go on to be the best Astute-class submarine yet”.
He continued: “Among tough competition that is a bold claim, but I fully believe it; she will be successful on operations for years to come and be envied by nations across the globe.
“The good fortune to be commanding officer of the most advanced and capable attack submarine ever built in the UK on her commissioning day is the greatest honour of my submarine career.”
Also among those eager to see Anson in action is the new head of the Royal Navy Submarine Service, Commodore Paul Dunn. “The commissioning is a significant milestone for both Anson and the Submarine Service and I would like to thank the crew, BAE Systems and the ‘submarine enterprise’ for the delivery of our fifth Astute-class,” he said.
“I look forward to welcoming Anson to Her Majesty’s Naval Base Clyde, the home of the Submarine Service, in the near future.”
Armed with a combination of up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk Block V cruise missiles, Anson can take out enemy ships/submarines, destroy land targets up to 1,000 miles away and launch and recover Royal Marines raiding and reconnaissance teams – among other capabilities.
First Sea Lord, Admiral Sir Ben Key, said: “Given the world we live in, there is no more important tool in the United Kingdom’s arsenal: silent, unseen, and a key instrument of our global, modern, ready Royal Navy.
“HMS Anson is the cutting edge in submarine design and construction… ensuring operational advantage in the underwater battlespace, the last great stealth domain.
“The Royal Navy’s nuclear submarines: protecting critical national infrastructure, securing the nuclear deterrent, and ready to deliver firepower against those who would do us harm.”
The Astute programme is one of the most complex engineering projects in the world. Anson will remain in Barrow for several more weeks undergoing final checks, tests and tweaks to her system before she sails for her future home at HM Naval Base Clyde in Faslane, where she will prepare for sea trials.
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