{"id":31118,"date":"2015-10-22T14:08:15","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T14:08:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2015\/10\/22\/fallon-keep-successor-costs-schedule-under-control\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:40:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:40:10","slug":"fallon-keep-successor-costs-schedule-under-control","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/naval\/2015\/10\/22\/fallon-keep-successor-costs-schedule-under-control\/","title":{"rendered":"Fallon: Keep Successor Costs, Schedule Under Control"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

LONDON \u2014\u00a0Britain\u2019s nuclear submarine industry has been warned by Defence Secretary Michael Fallon not to repeat the delays and cost overruns of the Astute hunter-killer program when it builds they come to build <\/span>the Royal Navy\u2019s new Trident missile submarines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Let\u2019s be in no doubt that our new conventional [Astute nuclear submarine] timetable may have slipped a little but our new ballistic missile submarines cannot be late. There cannot be any threat to the build times, overrunning costs or any other excuses,” Fallon said during a speech Wednesday at an industry briefing to lawmakers and others on the Successor nuclear deterrent program. Oct 21.<\/span>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Conservative government is committed to building four of the new 16,000-ton\u00a0Successor nuclear missile boats and is expected to seek final parliamentary approval for the program in the next few months. to go ahead with the program.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fallon said industry’s ies <\/span>failure to deliver was one of the risks to the program.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A number of industry executives, including Ian King, the CEO of nuclear submarine builder BAE Systems,\u00a0were in the audience to hear Fallon’s warning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“For 46 years our deterrent has been used every day and night to keep this country safe. If we are to continue that\u00a0continuity, that continuous at-sea deterrence, there is no room in the program for delay,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A BAE spokesperson replied that “BAE Systems is proud to design, build and commission the submarines which enable the UK to maintain a position of continuous at-sea deterrence.\u00a0We are committed to working with the government and the broader submarine\u00a0enterprise to maximize value for money whilst delivering leading capabilities on this important program.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fallon’s warning follows remarks made Oct. 14 by the MoD’s top civil servant, Jon Thompson, that Successor was the program that most kept him awake at night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s the single biggest future financial risk we face. The project is a monster\u00a0… it’s a significant element of the overall equipment plan … it most keeps me awake at night,” the permanent undersecretary told a parliamentary public accounts committee hearing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thomson acknowledged getting accurate program costs would be difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“It’s an incredibly complicated area to estimate future costs but we will make them,” he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

BAE Systems, nuclear reactor builder Rolls-Royce and others have been working on the \u00a3<\/span>3.3 billion pounds (US$5.1 billion) assessment phase for the Successor ahead of an expected development and build contract allowing\u00a0metal to be cut on the first\u00a0submarine next year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first new submarine to replace the existing Vanguard-class of boats is planned to enter service around 2028.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the Successor program already set to swallow a large portion of the defense equipment procurement budget for more than a decade, the next\u00a0<\/span>government ministers are anxious to avoid the problems encountered in building the Astute submarines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fallon’s reference to the Astute program having “slipped a little” is something of an understatement.\u00a0The third of seven Astute-class boats is now undergoing sea trials but the program is years behind schedule and significantly over cost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The defense secretary told the parliamentary briefing, organized by the shipbuilding industry lobby group Keep our Future Afloat Campaign, (KOFAC), <\/span>that the Successor project budget was about\u00a0twice that of the London Crossrail\u00a0program and three times the budget of the London Olympics.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That puts the Successor program cost at around \u00a3<\/span>30 billion pounds, a figure that likely includes submarines and the upgrade of the Faslane, Scotland, nuclear base, in addition to\u00a0other costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Spread over the 30-year life of the new boats it represents an annual insurance premium of only 0.13 percent\u00a0of total government spending, but we get a lot out from what we put in,” Fallon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The government is expected to win parliamentary approval for the Successor project even though there is strong opposition from the Scottish National Party and parts of the Labour Party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maria Eagles, the shadow defense secretary, told the audience at the House of Commons that Labour Party policy was for a credible, independent nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That’s at odds, though, with new party leader Jeremy Corbyn , a long-time supporter of the anti-nuclear movement in the UK, who is pushing for Successor to be canceled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Email: achuter@defensenews.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Britain\u2019s nuclear sub industry has been warned to avoid delays and overruns when it builds the new Trident missile 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