Britain is building new nuclear submarines in response to the Russian threat

London is investing £15 billion in nuclear weapons and the construction of up to 12 new submarines, strengthening its defense capabilities.

The United Kingdom has announced a large-scale rearmament of the fleet, which involves the construction of up to 12 new nuclear attack submarines within the framework of the trilateral AUKUS alliance with the United States and Australia. Bloomberg writes about this.

The modernization of the nuclear arsenal and the development of new submarines will be allocated £15 billion ($20 billion). The new boats will replace the current Astute-class submarines, but their commissioning is not expected before the end of the 2030s.

Defense Secretary John Healy said that this step is a response to the “growing threats” from Russia and other authoritarian regimes.

“We know that the threats are growing, and we must act decisively to confront Russian aggression. With new, modern submarines patrolling international waters and our own nuclear warhead programme, we will secure Britain at home and international forces abroad,” Healy said in a BBC commentary.

In addition to the submarines, the defence strategy includes the construction of at least six new munitions factories, the purchase of up to 7,000 long-range missiles and the creation of a new cyber command to protect against cyber attacks.

These measures are also intended to strengthen Britain’s position in the face of reduced security guarantees from the US and growing instability in Europe.

As USM wrote, the UK recently unveiled Europe’s largest unmanned submarine, the Excalibur.