A PRESTIGIOUS name has been chosen for one of the four nuclear deterrent submarines which will be built in Barrow over the next 15 years.

To mark Trafalgar Day, Defence Secretary Michael Fallon has announced that her Majesty the Queen has approved the name 'Dreadnought,' for the lead Successor submarine which will protect our national security for years to come.

The name is synonymous with Barrow's submarine heritage as it marks 56 years since the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh attended a ceremony to mark the launch of Britain's first nuclear-powered submarine - HMS Dreadnought.

It also has extensive historical significance with the name borne by no fewer than nine Royal Navy ships.

In 1588, Royal Navy Officer Sir Francis Drake sailed a dreadnought to repel the Spanish Armada and more than 200 years later, another dreadnought used its firepower to help Lord Nelson win the Battle of Trafalgar.

Construction officially began on the new Successor fleet earlier this month when Mr Fallon flew in to Barrow to cut the first piece of steel for one of the boats.

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The Defence Secretary said: "Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain’s security.

"We cannot know what dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so we are building the new Dreadnought class.

"Along with increasing the defence budget to buy new ships, more planes, and armoured vehicles, this commitment shows we will never gamble with our security.”

Barrow and Furness MP John Woodcock also welcomed the Dreadnought title.

He said: "Naming the new submarine Dreadnought underlines the importance of these vessels to the nation and is a wonderful nod to Barrow’s legacy in the illustrious history of the Royal Navy.

"Dreadnought is a name steeped in centuries of glorious history, from the original HMS Dreadnought in 1553 right through to the very first nuclear submarine built in Barrow in 1960.

"It is a name that echoes through the ages and it is fantastic that it will be heard once again as the ground-breaking work done in the shipyard helps to guarantee the security of our nation for decades to come."

The new boats will replace the ageing Vanguard class of boats which are set to be replaced by 2028 after being initially brought into service in 1994.

The programme has now moved into "delivery phase one," which will see manufacturing work begin on structural steel work for the auxiliary machine space of the first submarine.

The £41bn project will deliver the largest and quietest submarine ever conceived by the Royal Navy and the first to accommodate both male and female submariners from the outset.

The programme will also be supported by a defence budget that will rise every year until the end of the decade, meeting the NATO commitment to spend two per cent of GDP on defence.

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Several hundred suppliers will be involved in the programme at its peak with almost 85 per cent of those based across the UK.

Barrow is also set to see an influx of workers as part of the town's commitment to building the next batch of submarines.

At its peak in the early 2020's it's thought that 5,000 staff will be working for BAE Systems to construct the new submarines with many of those set to based in Barrow shipyard.