The HMS Astute is the only new hunter-killer submarine on active patrol
Four of the other submarines are still in production after numerous delays
HMS Ambush is yet to complete a maiden voyage after 57 defects found
Royal Navy is bolstering its resources by using older ships for defences
The Royal Navy has just one nuclear powered submarine in operation after the rest of the fleet has been left out of action due to defects and damage.
Four of the Royal Navy's new multi-billion hunter and killer submarines are still in dock at Barrow-in-Furness because of defects that have delayed their production - 15 years after the new ships were first ordered.
Only two of the boats have actively joined the fleet, and one has already had to return to the dock and can only be used for training after more than 50 defects were found.
The Royal Navy's HMS Astute is the only new hunter-killer submarine in active service after four were beset by delays and a fifth cannot be used yet after 57 defects were found
Just the HMS Astute is currently in active service.
The news comes as authorities in Finland had to fire after a submarine from Russia entered its waters.
It also comes at a time of heightened tensions between Britain and Russia in the airspace over the North Sea and beneath the waves.
Delays in launching submarines from the new fleet, which cost around £1bn each, mean Britain's naval capabilities are having to be bolstered by older ships.
A senior naval source told the Daily Express: 'The problem with having just one submarine on operations is, if it is deployed to Libya, or East of Suez, it leaves us unable to carry out patrols in the Northern Gap, that area of the North Sea prolific with Russian activity.'
Just two submarines in the Astute class - HMS Astute and HMS Ambush – have so far been handed over to the UK Royal Navy, while the remaining five are in various stages of construction.
Read more:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3065973/Britain-s-Royal-Navy-just-one-nuclear-powered-submarine-active-patrol-five-service-repaired.html
