Overview
- The submarine sailed from BAE Systems’ Devonshire Dock Hall on Thursday and transited the Walney Channel into the Irish Sea en route to HM Naval Base Clyde to begin sea trials, weapons testing and crew training.
- Agamemnon is the sixth of seven Astute‑class attack submarines and was formally commissioned on 22 September 2025 but remained in the yard for reactor commissioning and final work before this first voyage.
- The boat is not yet operational and analysts estimate, based on recent Astute timelines, that she could reach operational readiness in roughly 12 to 15 months, which would place in‑service availability in the latter part of 2027.
- Her more than 13‑year build — keel laid July 2013 and delayed by the pandemic, Dreadnought work and Astute complexity — underlines long lead times in UK submarine production and makes timely trials and maintenance critical to fleet availability.
- Barrow‑in‑Furness remains the UK’s sole nuclear‑submarine yard and has received major investment and workforce growth to expand capacity for overlapping Astute, Dreadnought and SSN‑AUKUS programmes, a development that will shape future submarine delivery and local jobs.