This is the
This books covers the design, engineering, capabilities, and operational history of the Astute class nuclear submarine. It’s 192 pages long and it’s full of detailed cutaway illustrations, as well ass photographs and other diagrams to show just how the boat ticks.
This is the Astute Class Nuclear Submarine Owners’ Workshop Manual from Haynes, one of the best-known workshop manual publishers in the world.
History Speedrun: The Astute Class Nuclear Submarine
When the Royal Navy began planning a successor to the aging Trafalgar-class submarines in the early 1990s, it faced a paradox – replacing Cold War hardware with something quieter, smarter, and longer-ranged, yet affordable in a post-Soviet defense climate where budgets were a little less unlimited than they used to be.
The result of this project was the Astute-class – Britain’s most advanced nuclear-powered attack submarine up until that point in history, and one of the most complex military engineering projects ever undertaken in the UK.
Developed by BAE Systems Submarines in Barrow-in-Furness, the program was formally approved in 1997, though its original groundwork can be dated back to the early 1980s and the “Batch 2 Trafalgar” studies.
From the very outset, the goal was endurance and stealth – a boat that could patrol thousands of miles from home, remain undetected for months, and project power across the world’s oceans in complete stealth. Each Astute displaces roughly 7,400 tonnes submerged and stretches 97 meters – larger than any previous British SSN but with a reduced crew of around 98, thanks to highly automated onboard systems.
At the heart of the Astute is the Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor, a pressurized water unit that was adapted from the Vanguard-class ballistic missile subs. It’s designed to operate for the vessel’s 25 year life without refueling, giving the Astute an effectively unlimited range when you take out the human factor.
Propulsion is via a pump-jet system – quieter than conventional propellers – and the top submerged speed is 30 knots. Armament includes up to 38 weapons in six 533 mm tubes, with a loadout mix of Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles capable of striking targets over 1,000 miles away.
The Astute Class Nuclear Submarine Owner’s Workshop Manual is part of Haynes’ long-running “Owner’s Workshop Manual” series, which takes a detailed, engineer-level look at significant machines and vehicles from history through to the current day.
Instead of a periscope, the Astute uses an optronic mast system, feeding digital video directly to the control room, which itself is modeled more like a cockpit than the analog panels of earlier generations. The onboard combat management system combines sonar, radar, and intelligence inputs for quick tactical decision making.
The lead boat, HMS Astute (S119), was launched in 2007 and commissioned in 2010, followed by Ambush, Artful, Audacious, and Anson. Two more – Agamemnon and Achilles – remain under construction.
The class has since become one of the Royal Navy’s primary undersea deterrents and a key asset for NATO operations – performing intelligence gathering, clandestine special forces delivery, and surveillance missions worldwide – not to mention providing a key deterrent to rogue states and other bad actors.
The Astute Class Nuclear Submarine Owners’ Workshop Manual
The Astute Class Nuclear Submarine Owner’s Workshop Manual is part of Haynes’ long-running “Owner’s Workshop Manual” series, which takes a detailed, engineer-level look at significant machines and vehicles from history through to the current day.
Written by Jonathan Gates, a defence consultant with direct industry experience, and illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, cutaways, and diagrams, the book focuses on the design, construction, and operation of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines – among the best in the world.
The book functions as a technical and historical study of the class – it follows the development path from the Trafalgar-class to the Astute program, outlining the evolution of Britain’s SSN fleet and the major technological advances involved in stealth, sonar, propulsion, and reactor design.
Written by Jonathan Gates, a defence consultant with direct industry experience, and illustrated with more than 300 color photographs, cutaways, and diagrams, the book focuses on the design, construction, and operation of the Royal Navy’s Astute-class nuclear-powered attack submarines – among the best in the world.
The manual describes systems including the Rolls-Royce PWR2 nuclear reactor, the Thales 2076 sonar suite, and the pump-jet propulsion system – all presented in the fun and accessible yet factually grounded style that has made Haynes’ aircraft and armored vehicle manuals popular among engineers and naval enthusiasts alike.
The book is now available on the official Haynes Amazon store here.
Images courtesy of Haynes
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Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
