page_title: Vanguard-class submarine
section_title: Design and construction
hierarchical_section_title: Vanguard-class submarine / Development / Design and construction
context_page_description: The Vanguard class is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines in service with the Royal Navy. The class was introduced in 1994 as part of the Trident nuclear programme, and includes four boats: Vanguard, Victorious, Vigilant and Vengeance, built between 1986 and 1999 at Barrow-in-Furness by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, now owned by BAE Systems. All four boats are based at HM Naval Base Clyde, 40 km west of Glasgow, Scotland.
  Since the decommissioning of the Royal Air Force WE.177 free-fall thermonuclear weapons during March 1998, the four Vanguard submarines are the sole platforms for the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons. Each submarine is armed with up to 16 UGM-133 Trident II missiles. The class is scheduled to be replaced starting in 2028, although its replacement would not enter service until the early 2030s.
context_section_description: Beginning in 1985, both HMNB Clyde and the Royal Naval Armaments Depot Coulport at Faslane underwent extensive redevelopment in preparation for the Vanguard class submarines and Trident II missiles. Rosyth dockyard also underwent significant redevelopment. The work included enhanced "handling, storage, armament processing, berthing, docking, engineering, training and refitting facilities" at an estimates cost of £550 million. Similarly, due to the huge scale of the Vanguard-class design, the Devonshire Dock Hall was built specifically for the construction of the boats. Construction started in 1982 and was completed in 1986.
  The Vanguard class were designed in the early 1980s by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering (VSEL) based at Barrow-in-Furness, now BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines. They were designed from the outset as nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines, able to accommodate the UGM-133 Trident II missiles. As such, the missile compartment is based on the same system used on the American Ohio class, which is also equipped with the UGM-133 Trident II. This requirement led to the Vanguard-class design being significantly larger than the previous Polaris-equipped Resolution class, and at nearly 16,000 tonnes they are the largest submarines ever built for the Royal Navy.
  Prime Minister Thatcher laid the keel of the first boat, HMS Vanguard, on 3 September 1986 at the Devonshire Dock Hall in Barrow-in-Furness. Vanguard was launched in 1992 and commissioned in 1993. 1992 saw a debate over whether the fourth vessel, Vengeance, should be cancelled, however the Ministry of Defence ultimately ordered it in July 1992. Vengeance was commissioned in 1999.
caption: The 25,000 m2 (270,000 sq ft) Devonshire Dock Hall indoor shipbuilding complex
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