THE government is set to announce the allocation of more than £1bn to Barrow shipyard and Rolls-Royce so work can begin on constructing the Successor submarines.

The Ministry of Defence is considering granting the cash to Rolls-Royce and BAE Systems so they can start building the first of four Successor boats to replace the Vanguard-class submarines.

According to a report by The Financial Times, the Ministry might allocate approx. $1.3 billion of funds as early as September this year.

Successor is the British programme to replace the four Vanguard submarines which have provided continuous at sea deterrence since 1992 with four new submarines that will be built in Barrow.

Based on current plans, the submarines are expected to be fielded from the 2030s onwards and have a lifespan of at least 30 years.

The Successor submarines will carry the Trident missile system which will not need replacing until the 2040s.

“So far £4bn has been spent. Industry sources said the new round of funding would be used for continued design work and to order components that take a while to manufacture,” the Financial Times wrote.