The performance and safety of the Royal Navy’s new multibillion pound submarine has been called into doubt following a series of design and construction setbacks, the Guardian reported on Friday.
Concerns have been raised that hunter-killer vessel HMS Astute, the first of seven new submarines costing £9.75 billion, cannot achieve the speeds required to escape an attack, according to the report.
One source told the newspaper the boat had a “V8 engine with a Morris Minor gearbox”.
Other problems to have beset the boat include flooding, corrosion, substandard computer circuit boards and concerns over the effectiveness of its pioneering periscope.
The Ministry of Defence admitted Astute had suffered some “teething problems” during sea trials.
“It is normal for first of class trials to identify areas where modifications are required and these are then incorporated into later vessels of the class,” a spokesman told the Guardian.
New submarine beset by 'teething problems': report
