Nuclear submarine to be commissioned into Royal Navy

Britain's latest nuclear-powered submarine is to officially join the Royal Navy fleet.

A member of the armed services walks on the deck of Vanguard-class submarine HMS Vigilant, one of the UK's four nuclear warhead-carrying submarines, with Astute-class submarine HMS Artful behind at HM Naval Base Clyde. Picture: Danny Lawson/PA Wire

A commissioning ceremony will take place at Faslane naval base on the Clyde, where the 7,400-tonne sub will become Her Majesty’s Ship, or HMS, Artful.

It is the third Astute-class attack submarine to join the fleet following Astute and Ambush, which have already completed deployments in the Mediterranean and Middle East.

The Navy said the submarines have been involved in anti-smuggling operations and provided Tomahawk land attack missile capability in support of anti-terrorism operations in the region.

Artful was built at BAE Systems shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, and moved to HM Naval Base Clyde in 2015 to undergo sea trials off the west coast of Scotland.

The submarine will carry a crew of around 150 and be able to travel at a speed of up to 30 knots.

All seven of the Navy’s Astute-class vessels will eventually be based on the Clyde.

The next two submarines in the class, Audacious and Anson, are being built in Barrow, with Agamemnon and the as-yet unnamed seventh sub to follow.

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