Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what recent progress his Department has made on the Astute programme.

This Government is committed to building seven Astute Class submarines. Five submarines have been delivered to the Royal Navy. In October 2024 the sixth vessel, Agamemnon, launched at the BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow to begin the test and commissioning phase. The final vessel, Achilles, remains at an advanced stage of build.