Last Astute-class submarine renamed HMS Achilles

The UK Royal Navy (RN) has changed the name of the final Astute class nuclear-powered submarines to HMS Achilles.

The change will be the second time the boat’s name has been switched along its pathway into service. Prior to 2018, the vessel went by the in-work name of HMS Ajax. Ajax was a famous Hellenic warrior from Homer’s Iliad and a symbol of intense strength in the Trojan war.

In 2018, when the boat was officially contracted with BAE Systems for £1.5 billion (US$1.9 billion), it changed its name to HMS Agincourt, in memory of the decisive British victory in the Hundred Years’ War between the UK and France. Five previous RN vessels have carried the name HMS Achilles.

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In announcing the shift away from the name of the battle to that of another famous Homeric warrior, the RN said: "The 7th Astute-class submarine is to be named HMS Achilles, as approved by [King Charles III].

"The name is appropriate in light of the 80th anniversaries this year of VE [Victory in Europe] and VJ [Victory over Japan] Day. Six ships have previously borne the name, earning six battle honours, including at the battles of River Plate and Okinawa.”

Whether the final Astute-class ultimately sails as HMS Achilles or HMS Agincourt, when it launches (currently scheduled for 2026), it will be one of the UK’s most technologically advanced nuclear-powered submarines, designed to serve until the AUKUS submarines begin to replace them in the early 2040s.

As the last boat in the class, HMS Achilles is likely to be among the last to be decommissioned.

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