EXTRA01-2020 HMS "VANGUARD"

Vanguard is the name of a class of British nuclear-powered submarines - carriers of ballistic missile (SSBN) missiles, which were built between 1986 and 1998. In total, four units of this class were built. They are all active and stay in line. The Vanguard-class ship is 149.9 m long, 12.8 m wide, and has a displacement of approximately 15,900 tons. The maximum underwater speed probably exceeds 25 knots. The main armament of units of this class consists of 16 Trident II D-5 ballistic missile launchers and four 533 mm torpedo tubes. The Vanguard-class ships were designed and put into production to replace Resolution-class units in the Royal Navy. The new British SSBN ships are much larger than their predecessors, both in terms of length and - especially - in terms of underwater displacement. They also carry completely different, much better, ballistic missiles with a range exceeding 12,000 km, each of which is capable of carrying up to 8 nuclear warheads. Vanguard-class ships are also - probably - much better soundproofed than their predecessors and most likely have better performance - especially underwater speed. The estimated value of a single Vanguard-class ship is in excess of £ 1.5 billion. It is assumed that ships of this class will be replaced by Dreadnought ships.