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United Kingdom In development BAE Systems
Dreadnought class
Next-generation ballistic missile submarine under construction to replace the Vanguard class and continue the UK's continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent into the 2050s, carrying Trident II D5 missiles and built with a new common missile compartment shared with the US Columbia class.
Planned service entry 2031 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
20
kn
17,200
t
130
crew
💲 ≈ $9,800,000,000, Corrected: the prior figure on this page was the UK's total four-boat program cost including a GBP 10 billion contingency reserve, mistakenly entered as a per-submarine cost. The Ministry of Defence and House of Commons Library put the baseline four-boat programme at GBP 31 billion, about GBP 7.75 billion per boat, which converts to roughly USD 9.8 billion per submarine at typical exchange rates. Costs are expected to be higher for the lead boat, HMS Dreadnought, due to design and non-recurring engineering.
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
UK export-licensed
Subject to UK SPIRE licensing (ECJU); generally available to allied states.
Channel: Government-to-government or direct
Development status
Limited · 1 operator
Planned service entry 2031. Status: announced.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$25B – $34B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~30 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price. How we estimate this →
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Compatible munitions & weapons
Publicly reported weapons the Dreadnought class can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| VLS cells Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship, a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming. | 12 |
|---|---|
| Torpedo tubes Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships). | 4 |
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
| Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable. | 153.6 m |
|---|
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
| Engine Powerplant model and type. | 1x Rolls-Royce PWR3 nuclear reactor with turbo-electric drive |
|---|---|
| Propulsion type Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet… | Nuclear (pressurised water reactor) with pump-jet propulsor |
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
| Unit cost Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper. | $9,800,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability. | 0 |
| Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem. | 1 |
Specifications compiled from public BAE Systems and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
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Naval Group Suffren class Frequently asked questions
What engine does the BAE Systems Dreadnought class use? +
The BAE Systems Dreadnought class is powered by the 1x Rolls-Royce PWR3 nuclear reactor with turbo-electric drive.
What is the BAE Systems Dreadnought class used for? +
The BAE Systems Dreadnought class is a submarine typically used for deep strike.
How many countries operate the BAE Systems Dreadnought class? +
The BAE Systems Dreadnought class is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the BAE Systems Dreadnought class cost? +
The BAE Systems Dreadnought class has an approximate unit cost of 9,800,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
