ASTUTE CLASS SUBMARINES
Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what contracts are outstanding in the Astute programme. [198946]
Mr Dunne, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology (including Defence Exports): The following table describes the current Ministry of Defence contracts solely for the Astute class submarine programme. All contracts, except serial 9, are with BAE Systems Marine Ltd. Once in service, platforms, including the Astute class, are supported via extant Fleet wide arrangements.
| Serial | Contract | Description |
| 1 | Batch 1 | The build of Astute boats 1-3. |
| 2 | Boat 4 | The build of Astute boat 4. |
| 3 | Boat 5 | The provision of long-lead materials and activities to support the build of Astute boat 5. |
| 4 | Boat 6 | The provision of long-lead materials and activities to support the build of Astute boat 6. |
| 5 | Boat 7 | The provision of long-lead materials and activities to support the build of Astute boat 7. |
| 6 | Base Spares | To provide the initial spares provisioning for Astute boats leaving Barrow. |
| 7 | — | Foundation Placed to deliver the savings required by the 2010 SDSR through performance improvement and cost-benefit initiatives. To note that this contract impacts on both the Astute and Successor programmes. |
| 8 | Submarine Design Services | The provision of In Service technical assistance. |
| 9 | Astute Class Training Service | A PFI contract for the provision of Astute class crew training. The contract is placed with FAST Training Services Ltd (a consortium of BAE Systems, L-3 Communications and Babcock International). |