Rolls-Royce produces key components for UK nuclear armed submarines.
Nuclear weapons
Rolls Royce builds the nuclear propulsion systems for the new UK Dreadnought nuclear armed submarines.[i] In 2019, the UK government awarded Rolls-Royce Submarines with a contract worth nearly £480 million for the Dreadnought's nuclear propulsion power plants.[ii] Rolls-Royce is part of the Dreadnought Alliance, a joint management team between the Submarine Delivery Agency (SDA) of the British Ministry of Defence, BAE Systems and Rolls-Royce.[iii] In May 2022, the Ministry of Defence announced it had awarded additional contracts for the Dreadnought programme of over £2 billion to Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems, as an initial investment within a planned overall total of £10 billion for the whole delivery phase.[iv] In January 2025, Rolls-Royce signed an eight-year contract with the UK Ministry of Defence to support the UK Royal Navy’s fleet of submarines.[v] The contract includes work on the Dreadnought-class submarines and is valued at around £9 billion.
[i] We power the UK’s nuclear underwater defences (no date) | Rolls-Royce. Available at: Naval Nuclear Propulsion Plant | Rolls-Royce (Accessed: 16 October 2025).
[ii] ‘The United Kingdom’s future nuclear deterrent: the 2019 update to Parliament’. GOV.UK. (2019). Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-united-kingdoms-future-nuclear-deterrent-the-2019-update-to-parliament/the-united-kingdoms-future-nuclear-deterrent-the-2019-update-to-parliament.
[iii] Alliance partners (no date) | Dreadnought Alliance. Available at: Alliance partners - Dreadnought Alliance (Accessed: 16 October 2025).
[iv] More than £2 billion to boost UK submarine programme. Government of the United Kingdom, 9 may 2022. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/more-than-2-billion-to-boost-uk-submarine-programme.
[v] Rolls-Royce signs landmark Unity contract with UK Ministry of Defence. Dreadnought Alliance, 24 January 2025. Available at: Rolls-Royce signs landmark Unity contract with UK Ministry of Defence - Dreadnought Alliance.
Last updated: 2026-06-08 16:53:18