Babcock awarded contract to refit HMS Victorious in Plymouth

HMS Victorious will be the second submarine to undergo the "life extension" refit at Devonport

Defence giant Babcock has signed a £560m contract to refit one of the Royal Navy's Trident nuclear submarines at Devonport dockyard in Plymouth.

It said more than 1,000 jobs will be secured as a result of the deal, which will extend the life of HMS Victorious into the 2030s.

Victorious will be the second submarine to undergo the "life extension package" at Devonport, after HMS Vanguard.

CEO David Lockwood said delivering the programme was a "top priority".

He said: "We are proud to have been awarded this complex defence programme which will use our deep engineering expertise to help keep the UK safe."

'Deterrent patrols'

Babcock supports all of the UK's submarine fleet, including HMS Vanguard which left Devonport in May 2023 after a prolonged seven and a half year refit.

Work on HMS Victorious is already underway, following a commitment by the Ministry of Defence to authorise early works from July 2023.

Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Martin Connell said: "The Royal Navy performs no more important mission than Operation Relentless, the continuous at sea strategic deterrent patrols which have been performed by our submariners uninterrupted since 1969.

"The overhaul of HMS Victorious will allow the boat to carry out deterrent patrols until the next generation of submarines, the Dreadnought-class, enter service."

The vanguard class submarine is armed with Trident 2 D5 missiles which can be fired at targets up to 4,000 miles (6,437km) away.