BAE will officially launch the second Astute Class nuclear-powered attack submarine, Ambush, on 16 December 2010 at the company’s shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.

The 7,400t submarine is the second of the seven submarines in the Astute Class built by BAE.

The 97m-long Astute submarines are fuelled by a nuclear reactor and are armed with a mix of Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk land attack missiles, and the sonar suites are capable of processing 2,000 laptops.

The first submarine, HMS Astute, was officially commissioned into the Royal Navy in August this year.

The third submarine is in the advanced phase and construction of major steelwork is in progress for the fourth boat, Audacious.