It’s the world’s biggest bin bag! ‘Mega-unit’ section of Royal Navy’s newest nuclear submarine HMS Dreadnought is kept under wraps as it heads north to Barrow shipyard

The ‘Mega-unit’ section of the Royal Navy’s newest nuclear submarine HMS Dreadnought was kept under wraps as it headed north to Barrow shipyard.

Incredible images show the submarine being moved along Cumbrian streets covered in black plastic.

As part of a £31bn programme, the huge section of HMS Dreadnought is seen protected against the elements by what the Royal Navy describe as ‘what must be the world’s largest black bin bag’.

The nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines are being constructed by BAE Systems at its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard.

The move occurred on 21 September but given the highly sensitive nature of the programme, the MOD have only today cleared the pictures.

The ‘Mega-unit’ section of the Royal Navy’s newest nuclear submarine HMS Dreadnought was kept under wraps as it headed north to Barrow shipyard

Incredible images show the submarine being moved along Cumbrian streets covered in black plastic

The nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines are being constructed by BAE Systems at its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard

A BAE Systems spokesperson comments: ‘The longest ever ‘mega-unit’ so far for Dreadnought Boat 1 has been moved down the road into BAE Systems Submarines’ Devonshire Dock Hall (DDH) in Barrow-in-Furness.

‘At more than 20m, it was the longest submarine unit to move by road since the fore-end mega-unit moved to the DDH for the final Vanguard boat in the mid-1990s.

‘This mega-unit will now take its place on the Dreadnought build line as we continue construction of the next generation of deterrent submarine. Three of the four Dreadnought submarines are currently under construction in Barrow and will deploy into the Royal Navy fleet in the early 2030s.

‘BAE Systems’ site on the edge of the Lake District is the home of UK submarine building.’

The Royal Navy add: ‘All will be assembled under cover in the dock hall – 260 metres long, 58 wide and 51 high, making it almost large enough to accommodate the Titanic – where the final two Astute-class submarines, HMS Agamemnon and Agincourt, are in the later stages of construction/completion, and where the ‘mega unit’ will take its place on the Dreadnought build line.

HMS Dreadnought is due to enter service in the early 2030s.

As part of a £31bn programme, the huge section of HMS Dreadnought is seen protected against the elements by what the Royal Navy describe as ‘what must be the world’s largest black bin bag’

The move occurred on 21 September but given the highly sensitive nature of the programme, the MOD have only today cleared the pictures

HMS Dreadnought is due to enter service in the early 2030s

The Dreadnought Class will replace the existing Barrow-built Vanguard fleet and will be the Royal Navy’s biggest, most powerful and technically advanced submarines.

Their construction is the biggest defence project underway in the UK today, BAE Systems said, involving new levels of innovation, technology and collaboration, and is also one of the largest and ‘most complex engineering projects in the world’. 

Work on the first two boats in the class – Dreadnought and Valiant – is well underway.

BAE Systems is building the fleet of four submarines, with each one measuring more than the length of three Olympic-sized swimming pools. 

Dreadnought is the first Royal Navy submarine to have mixed crews so has been designed with separate male and female crew quarters. 

It has also been designed with ‘day’ and ‘night’ lighting and a host of technological innovations. 

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