Overview
- The government confirmed an £8.4 billion package on Thursday that includes a new £5.9 billion contract for BAE Systems and £2.5 billion for the wider supply chain, marking the start of Delivery Phase 4 of the Dreadnought programme.
- Delivery Phase 4 will push HMS Dreadnought toward sea trials and fund continued work on second boat HMS Valiant plus fabrication and outfitting of the third and fourth boats, Warspite and King George VI.
- Officials say the investment supports the Defence Nuclear Enterprise workforce, which the government estimates at about 47,000 jobs today and forecast to grow to roughly 65,000 by 2030, with a target of around 22,000 apprenticeships by 2035.
- Opposition MPs and critics argued the announcement largely restates sums from the earlier Defence Investment Plan and pressed for clearer multi-year defence budget commitments, including how the government will meet higher GDP spending targets.
- The contract builds on a long-running UK industrial effort to replace the Vanguard fleet and sustain the Continuous At Sea Deterrent, drawing on a supply chain of more than 1,500 firms and local regeneration programmes around Barrow-in-Furness.