The Royal Navy’s newest £1.3 billion nuclear attack submarine has taken to the Mediterranean on her first NATO mission. HMS Audacious is the fourth of seven new cutting-edge Astute-class submarines, which are the largest, most advanced and most powerful attack submarines ever operated by the Royal Navy.
The submarine was formally commissioned in September 2021. It joined its sister vessels – HMS Astute, Ambush and Artful – on the front line for the first time in January, spending months in the depths of the North Atlantic and Mediterranean.
Audacious left its home of Clyde Naval Base in Scotland and after two months of intensive sea training designed to test the boat’s equipment and sailors to the limit, left the waters close to the UK bound south for the Med. The sub is stocked with an incredible 18,000 sausages and 4,200 Weetabix biscuits for its crew.
The warship loaded up on Tomahawk missiles – just one part of the Astute-class’s powerful armoury alongside the Spearfish heavyweight torpedo – in Gibraltar. It then sailed into the Mediterranean and completed exercises with NATO allies, including training with Greek, Turkish and United States allies.
The training tested Audacious’ ability to evade, track and engage foes underwater and on the surface. It offered NATO allies the chance to pit their wits against a nuclear attack submarine – a relatively rare training opportunity for many navies, as they looked to hunt down Audacious beneath the waves.
Commanding Officer, Commander Jim Howard, said: “These exercises helped HMS Audacious to demonstrate her prowess as the newest, most capable SSN that the UK has to offer while also strengthening NATO capability and interoperability and demonstrating our resolve towards NATO Missions."
Audacious followed this up by carrying out a period of NATO operations to provide security to the region, something the Royal Navy regularly carries out alongside allies and partners. Before her foray into the Med, Audacious carried out essential training off the coast of Scotland.
Those onboard underwent a range of mock crises, from fires to floods, to ensure they are ready to work together and respond calmly in a real emergency. Final trials were also completed, which thoroughly tested systems on the cutting-edge boat to make sure they will stand up to the stresses and strains of extended operations.
The Astute-class are capable of circumnavigating the globe while submerged, producing their own oxygen and drinking water to sustain the crews on arduous and lengthy deployments. Making sure all equipment is ready for long-term action is vital before Audacious stepped off on operations.
Audacious’ first deployment also marked the completion of qualifications for many crew members. They learned the location and function of hundreds of valves aboard to become fully-fledged submariners.
Fresh from its deployment to the Arctic, in which it carried out a number of missions including sub-surface stealth raids with Royal Marines Commandos, sister submarine HMS Ambush joined Audacious as it limbered up for full operations off the Scottish coast. The two submarines went head to head in underwater battles in a range of warfare scenarios.
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