Former Royal Navy chief says UK can’t run nuclear submarine program

(MENAFN) The UK is reportedly unable to manage its nuclear submarine program effectively, according to retired Rear Admiral Philip Mathias, former director of nuclear policy at the Ministry of Defense. In an article for The Telegraph, Mathias criticized years of mismanagement, delayed vessel deliveries, and extended patrols, which he said have led to a “shockingly low availability” of submarines.

Mathias highlighted budget cuts and poor personnel management as exacerbating factors, calling the situation “an unprecedented… catastrophic failure of succession and leadership planning” in the nuclear submarine era.

He suggested that the UK should reconsider its participation in the AUKUS pact with the US and Australia, which aims to provide up to 12 new nuclear submarines, and instead invest in more cost-effective options such as smaller unmanned submarines and UAVs.

Mathias also pointed to ongoing delays in the Astute- and Dreadnought-class vessels. He noted that HMS Agamemnon, the UK’s most modern nuclear submarine, took over 13 years to build, marking the longest construction time for a Royal Navy submarine.

Simon Case, overseeing the UK’s submarine construction program, described the industry as “severely weakened” by “decades of neglect” and admitted the nation has become “the world’s most embarrassed nuclear nation.”

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