[6] Seven boats will be constructed: the first of class, Astute, was launched by Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, in 2007,[7] commissioned in 2010, and declared fully operational in May 2014.

[2] The Astute-class programme began in February 1986 when the Ministry of Defence (MOD) launched a number of studies intended to determine the capabilities and requirements for the replacement of its Swiftsure and Trafalgar-class fleet submarines.

[8][9] These studies, called project SSN20, were conducted during the Cold War, when the Royal Navy maintained a strong emphasis on anti-submarine warfare to counter increasingly capable Soviet submarines.

To match this growing threat, the studies concluded that project SSN20 should be a revolutionary design, with significantly enhanced nuclear propulsion and firepower, and a more sophisticated "integrated sonar suite" and combat systems.

[9] While the philosophy behind B2TC was that of a modern and improved Trafalgar, early design concepts of B2TC were also heavily influenced by the then under construction Vanguard class, in particular its nuclear steam raising plant (NSRP).

The contract was signed on 14 March 1997, for what was now called the Astute programme, with a fixed maximum price, and any cost overruns being assumed by GEC-Marconi, the contractor.

With the signing of the contract in March 1997, GEC-Marconi started work on developing a complete and comprehensive design for the Astute programme.

[9] Initial realisation was that the size of the Rolls-Royce PWR2 required a much larger boat (beam and length) and significantly improved acoustic quieting.

[20] In February 2020, James Heappey, parliamentary under secretary of state for defence, confirmed that the in-service date for the final SSN, HMS Achilles, had slipped to 2026.

[21] In 2023, as part of the joint planning within the AUKUS defence group, it was indicated that, from 2027, one Astute-class submarine would forward operate on rotation from HMAS Stirling in Western Australia.

[22][25] The Astute class has stowage for 38 weapons and would typically carry a mix of Spearfish heavy torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV cruise missiles,[5] the latter costing £870,000 each.

[27] In May 2022, the MOD announced that it would be upgrading these missiles to Block V standard from 2024, which boasts an extended range and modernised in-flight communication and target selection.

[31] The boats of the Astute class are powered by a Rolls-Royce PWR2 (Core H) (a pressurised water reactor) and fitted with a pump-jet propulsor.

Like all Royal Navy submarines, the bridge fin of the Astute-class boats is specially reinforced to allow surfacing through ice caps.

However, they have less mess-deck space than the Valiant-class submarines built 45 years earlier[39] and a Defence Board audit recognised mistakes had been made on accommodation standards and quality of life issues.

[3] In 2012, during the joint exercise Fellowship, Astute performed simulated battles with the latest United States Navy Virginia-class submarine, USS New Mexico.

[42] However, in January 2015, the National Audit Office confirmed that demonstration of the top speed requirement (or Key Performance Measure (KPM)) for the Astute class was successful.

[43] The names Astute, Ambush and Artful were last given to Amphion-class submarines that entered service towards the end of World War II.