Thales welcomes certainty investment for UK nuclear deterrent submarine programme

Thales has welcomed the Government's announcement linked to investment for the UK's nuclear deterrent submarine programme. The company says the "certainty" provided will help the defence industry plan and invest confidently, supporting delivery of warfighting capability on time and sustaining operational availability, performance and safety across the in-service fleet.

Thales also highlights its ongoing partnership role in supporting both new build nuclear-powered submarines and the performance of submarines already in service. The investment is expected to strengthen long-term industrial capability and the UK workforce supporting advanced submarine design, manufacture, integration, testing and sustainment.

The Prime Minister also unveiled a new North West apprenticeship scheme to help defence supply-chain SMEs recruit and train apprentices over the next three years. Thales noted it has around 80 apprentices working in the sonar domain for the UK enterprise, as part of around 350 apprentices across Thales UK at any time.

Thales CEO Phil Siveter said the funding certainty will enable delivery of critical capability now and over the long term, while supporting a skills pipeline for resilience across the supply chain.