Retired Rear Admiral Philip Mathias has suggested the UK should prioritize more “cost-effective” systems such as drones
Retired Rear Admiral Philip Mathias has stated that the UK is no longer able to operate a nuclear submarine program following years of mismanagement.
The ex-director of nuclear policy at the Ministry of Defence strongly criticized the condition of Britain’s nuclear submarine fleet in an article published by The Telegraph on Saturday. He contended that ongoing delays in delivering new submarines, paired with lengthy patrols, have led to a “shockingly low availability” of vessels to tackle the threats confronting the nation—while budget reductions and a “major failure” in overseeing key personnel have worsened the issue.
“The UK is no longer able to manage a nuclear submarine program,” Mathias stated. “Performance in every area of the program keeps declining across all dimensions. This is an unprecedented scenario in the era of nuclear submarines. It represents a catastrophic failure in succession and leadership planning,” he wrote.
The retired admiral called on London to pull out of the AUKUS agreement with Australia and the US (which aims to supply up to 12 new nuclear submarines) and instead prioritize more “cost-effective” systems like smaller unmanned submarines and UAVs.
Mathias also emphasized persistent delays in delivering Astute- and Dreadnought-class submarines. While HMS Agamemnon (the UK’s latest nuclear submarine) joined the fleet in September, “the uncomfortable reality is that her construction took more than 13 years—the longest ever for a submarine built for the Royal Navy,” he wrote.
Simon Case—the official in charge of the UK’s submarine construction program—told the parliamentary defense committee last month that “decades of neglect” had significantly weakened the submarine sector. “Somehow we’ve become the world’s most embarrassed nuclear nation,” he stated.