Nuclear submarine in the context of "Vanguard-class submarine"

In 1952, the United Kingdom became the third country (after the United States and the Soviet Union) to develop and test nuclear weapons, and is one of the five nuclear-weapon states under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. As of 2025, the UK possesses a stockpile of approximately 225 warheads, with 120 deployed on its only delivery system, the Trident programme's submarine-launched ballistic missiles. Additionally, United States B61 nuclear bombs have been stored at RAF Lakenheath since 2025. In 2025, the UK announced plans to procure 12 F-35A aircraft capable of delivering B61s.

Since 1969, the Royal Navy has operated the continuous at-sea deterrent, with at least one ballistic missile submarine always on patrol. Under the Polaris Sales Agreement, the US supplied the UK with Polaris missiles and nuclear submarine technology, in exchange for the general commitment of these forces to NATO. In 1982, an amendment allowed the purchase of Trident II missiles, and since 1998, Trident has been the only nuclear weapons system in British service. Four Vanguard-class submarines are based at HMNB Clyde in Scotland. Each is armed with up to sixteen Trident II missiles, each carrying warheads in up to eight multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs).

The Upholder/Victoria-class submarines, also known as the Type 2400 (due to their displacement of 2,400 tonnes), are a class of diesel-electric submarines built in the United Kingdom in the 1980s to supplement the nuclear submarines in the Submarine Service of the British Royal Navy.

The boats were originally named the Upholder class, after the most renowned vessel of the former U class. Their British service life was short, with the vessels being decommissioned in 1994. After an unsuccessful bid to transfer these submarines to the Pakistan Navy in 1993–1994, the Canadian government eventually purchased the submarines and a suite of trainers from the Royal Navy for Canadian Forces Maritime Command (renamed to Royal Canadian Navy in 2011) to replace their decommissioned Oberon-class submarines in 1998.

Naval Base Kitsap is a U.S. Navy base located on the Kitsap Peninsula in Washington state, created in 2004 by merging the former Naval Station Bremerton with Naval Submarine Base Bangor. It is the home base for the Navy’s fleet throughout West Puget Sound, provides base operating services, support for both surface ships and fleet ballistic missile and other nuclear submarines as one of the U.S. Navy's four nuclear shipyards, one of two strategic nuclear weapons facilities, and the only West Coast dry dock capable of handling a Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and the Navy's largest fuel depot. Naval Base Kitsap is the third-largest Navy base in the U.S. The base has a workforce of 15,601 active duty personnel.

It also provides service, programs, and facilities for their hosted combat commands, tenant activities, ships' crews, and civilian employees. It is the largest naval organization in Navy Region Northwest, and composed of installations at Bremerton, Bangor, Indian Island, Manchester, and Keyport, Washington. It received the 2005 and 2017 Commander in Chief's Award for Installation Excellence - the Best Base in the U.S. Navy.

His Majesty's Naval Base, Clyde (HMNB Clyde; also HMS Neptune), primarily sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch, is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Devonport and HMNB Portsmouth). It is the navy's headquarters in Scotland and is best known as the home of Britain's nuclear weapons, in the form of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.

JSC PO Sevmash (Russian: ОАО «ПО „Севмаш“», Севмаш) is a Russian joint-stock company (JSC) under the vertically-integrated United Shipbuilding Corporation. The shipbuilding operations of Sevmash is in the port city of Severodvinsk on the White Sea in the Russian Federation.

"Sevmash" is an abbreviation of Severnoye Mashinostroitelnoye Predpriyatie (Северное Машиностроительное Предприятие), i.e. "Northern Machine-Building Enterprise". Sevmash is the largest shipbuilding enterprise in Russia and today the country's only nuclear submarine producer. In 2020, the company employed 30,000 people and as of 2009, its revenue from military production was $533.02 million.

Submarine warfare is one of the four divisions of underwater warfare, the others being anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare and mine countermeasures.

Submarine warfare consists primarily of diesel and nuclear submarines using torpedoes, missiles or nuclear weapons, as well as advanced sensing equipment, to attack other submarines, ships, or land targets. Submarines may also be used for reconnaissance and landing of special forces as well as deterrence. In some navies they may be used for task force screening. The effectiveness of submarine warfare partly depends on the anti-submarine warfare carried out in response.

The Type 094 (Chinese: 09-IV型核潜艇; Chinese designation: 09-IV; NATO reporting name: Jin class) is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines developed by China for the People's Liberation Army Navy Submarine Force. The Type 094 succeeds the Type 092 submarine and precedes the Type 096 submarine, which is under development.

The Arihant-class (lit. 'Vanquisher of the Enemy') is a class of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines in service with Indian Navy. They were developed under the Advanced Technology Vessel (ATV) project to design and build nuclear-powered submarines. These vessels are classified as 'strategic strike nuclear submarines' by India.

The lead vessel of the class, INS Arihant was laid down in 2004, launched in 2009 and after extensive sea trials was confirmed to be commissioned in August 2016. Arihant holds the distinction of being the first ballistic missile submarine to have been built by a country other than one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. As of 25 October 2024, INS Arihant and INS Arighaat are already on deep sea patrols.

The Borei class, alternate transliteration Borey, Russian designation Project 955 Borei and Project 955A Borei-A (Russian: Борей, lit. 'Boreas', NATO reporting name Dolgorukiy), are a series of nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarines being constructed by Sevmash for the Russian Navy. The class has been replacing the steadily retiring Russian Navy Delta III and Delta IV classes and fully retired (as of February 2023) Typhoon, all three classes being Soviet-era submarines.

Despite being a replacement for many types of SSBNs, Borei-class submarines are much smaller than those of the Typhoon class in both displacement and crew (24,000 tons submerged opposed to 48,000 tons and 107 personnel as opposed to 160 for the Typhoons). In terms of class, they are more accurately a follow-on for the Delta IV-class SSBNs.

The Ohio class of nuclear-powered submarines includes the United States Navy's 14 ballistic missile submarines (SSBNs) and its 4 cruise missile submarines (SSGNs). Each displacing 18,750 tons submerged, the Ohio-class boats are the largest submarines ever built for the U.S. Navy and are capable of carrying 24 Trident II ballistic missiles or 22 tubes with 7 BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missiles apiece. They are also the third-largest submarines ever built, behind the Russian Navy's Soviet era 48,000-ton Typhoon class, the last of which was retired in 2023, and 24,000-ton Borei class.

Like their predecessors the Benjamin Franklin and Lafayette classes, the Ohio-class SSBNs are part of the United States' nuclear-deterrent triad, along with U.S. Air Force strategic bombers and intercontinental ballistic missiles. The 14 SSBNs together carry about half of U.S. active strategic thermonuclear warheads. Although the Trident missiles have no preset targets when the submarines go on patrol, they can be given targets quickly, from the United States Strategic Command based in Nebraska, using secure and constant radio communications links, including very low frequency systems.