SSN-AUKUS attack submarines<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\nConstruction has now begun on a new manufacturing facility following a ceremonial groundbreaking attended by UK Defence Minister Lord Coaker, Rolls-Royce Submarines President Abi Clayton and Commodore Alistair Moody, Director for Nuclear Propulsion at the Submarine Delivery Group.\u00a0<\/p>\n
More than 100,000 square metres of new facilities<\/p>\n
The expansion will add more than 100,000 square metres of manufacturing and office space to the Raynesway campus while creating 1,170 highly skilled jobs across engineering, manufacturing and other technical disciplines.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"Rolls-Royce](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rr-hits-key-milestone-in-major-site-expansion-proposed-raynesway-site-expansion-image.webp\")
Photo: Rolls-Royce<\/p>\n
Rolls-Royce says the additional capacity is essential to increasing production rates for both existing UK submarine programmes and future SSN-AUKUS boats.<\/p>\n
\u201cBreaking ground is a significant step forward in the critical growth of our business,\u201d said Abi Clayton, President of Rolls-Royce Submarines. \u201cThis expansion will more than double the size of our manufacturing facility, strengthening our capability and demonstrating our ongoing commitment to the Defence Nuclear Enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Breaking](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/rr-hits-key-milestone-in-major-site-expansion-breaking-ground-image.webp\")
Breaking ground at the Rolls-Royce Raynesway site expansion (l-r Abi Clayton, Lord Coaker and Commodore Alistair Moody) Photo: Rolls-Royce<\/p>\n
Clayton added that the project would \u201cunlock much-needed manufacturing capacity\u201d and increase the company\u2019s production \u201cdrumbeat\u201d in support of submarine construction programmes.\u00a0<\/p>\n
A key industrial investment for AUKUS<\/p>\n
Rolls-Royce Submarines first announced plans for the Raynesway expansion in 2023 following the launch of the AUKUS partnership between Australia, the UK and the US.<\/p>\n
Under Pillar I of AUKUS, Australia will acquire conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines based on the UK-developed SSN-AUKUS design. Rolls-Royce Submarines will manufacture the nuclear reactors for both British and Australian boats, making increased industrial capacity a critical element of the programme.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Australia has committed billions of dollars to strengthening the UK\u2019s submarine industrial base, including investments to expand Rolls-Royce\u2019s Derby facilities as part of wider efforts to ensure sufficient manufacturing capacity for both nations\u2019 submarine fleets.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Supporting the UK\u2019s nuclear deterrent<\/p>\n
Raynesway is one of the UK\u2019s most strategically important defence manufacturing sites. It designs and builds the pressurised water reactors used across the Royal Navy\u2019s submarine fleet and supports the UK\u2019s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.<\/p>\n
The expanded site will support production for both the new Dreadnought-class ballistic missile submarines, which will replace the Vanguard class, and the SSN-AUKUS attack submarines that will eventually succeed the Astute class.\u00a0<\/p>\n
During the visit, Lord Coaker also met Rolls-Royce nuclear welding apprentices, whose team recently secured the top four places in the East Midlands SkillWeld competition\u2014marking the first time a single company has claimed all top positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWitnessing the manufacturing of the fifth SSSN-AUKUS reactor and the hundreds of apprentices in action was inspiring \u2013 seeing defence investment creating jobs, driving growth, and keeping the UK safe,\u201d Lord Coaker said.<\/p>\n
Commodore Alistair Moody, Director for Nuclear Propulsion at the Submarine Delivery Group, added that the nuclear enterprise investment confirmed in the DIP<\/a> \u201creflects the UK\u2019s unwavering commitment to maintaining and renewing our nuclear deterrent, a capability that has protected the UK and our allies for almost 60 years. Delivering this work is a National Endeavour and continues to drive growth, strengthen security and sustain tens of thousands of jobs across the UK.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Photo: Rolls-Royce Rolls-Royce Submarines is expanding its Raynesway facility in Derby, breaking ground on a new manufacturing complex…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":76317,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[20731],"tags":[6875,1238,34408,216],"class_list":["post-76316","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rolls-royce","tag-aukus","tag-rolls-royce","tag-rolls-royce-submarines","tag-royal-navy"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116860555369048054","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76316","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76316"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76316\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/76317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76316"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76316"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76316"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
![\"AUKUS](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/AtkinsRealis-AUKUSsubmarine-09122025-1.jpg\")
<\/p>\n