Without faltering on tradition, the new set of UK submarines will be called Dreadnought, rekindling the name given to early Royal Navy battleships in the 1900s.
56 yrs ago today, HMS Dreadnought was launched from our #Barrow site. The 1st Vanguard successor will now carry the same name #TrafalgarDay pic.twitter.com/mzl1lJnsbQ
— BAE Systems Maritime (@BAES_Maritime) October 21, 2016
Revealing the sub's new title, UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon issued a warning that the UK can never know just who might sail over and attack.
"Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain's security," Mr Fallon said.
"We cannot know what dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so we are building the new 'Dreadnought' class."
UK's names first of new batch of Nuclear Submarines as HMS Dreadnought — https://t.co/PqG9mAgkmC #army #military pic.twitter.com/sY43LDAI3Q
— Army Complex (@ArmyComplex) October 21, 2016
Mr Fallon followed up his announcement of the new name for the sub with an increase in the UK's defense budget "to buy more ships, more planes, and armored vehicles."
However, many groups, including the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) are fighting against the increase in budget and expect the cost predicted to be US$249 billion will increase.
"Hundreds of billions for a nuclear weapons system that does nothing to address the real and serious security threats we face….but not enough money for schools, hospitals, welfare and jobs. That just doesn't make sense to the majority of the population," Dave Webb chair of CND said.
The 2016 name has been approved by Britain's Queen Elizabeth and apparently the next three boats will be christened with similar "historical resonance" according to the MoD.
