Royal Navy decommissions two more Trafalgar-class submarines
HMS Trenchant, pictured sailing into Devonport in March 2021. (Photo: RN/Crown Copyright)
The UK RN officially decommissioned the Trafalgar-class submarines HMS Trenchant and HMS Talent at Devonport Naval Base on 20 May, leaving HMS Triumph as the only remaining boat in the class.
Triumph is earmarked to continue in RN service until 2024-2025 but the submarine is currently undergoing a refit.
The seven Trafalgar-class nuclear-powered attack submarines (SSNs) are being replaced by the same number of Astute-class SSN boats, four of which have been delivered to the RN (first-in-class HMS Astute, HMS Artful, HMS Ambush and HMS Audacious).
The RN confirmed on 20 May that a fifth Astute-class submarine, HMS Anson, ‘has completed successful diving checks’
The sixth and seventh boats, Agamemnon and Agincourt, are at different stages of construction by BAE Systems at its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.
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