Documentary exploring the workings of three engineering companies, beginning with the only shipyard in Britain capable of building a new class of submarine, which has cost more than $1billion and is able to circumnavigate the globe without surfacing. The programme follows engineers, designers and skilled craftsmen as they work on the Astute, from the initial stages of production to its first journey into the open sea. This documentary is about ‘How to Build A Nuclear Submarine’, follows the construction and events of the ‘Astute Class’ submarine within BAE Systems Submarine Solutions at Barrow-in-Furness over a period of a year. The BBC gained exclusive access to the facility building these amazing machines; one of the most secure and secret places in the country, and the Royal Navy; who commissioned it; allowed BAE Systems to tell the story of how one of the world’s most complicated vessels is built. Fourteen years to design and build and costing around one billion pounds, the ‘Astute Class’ nuclear submarine is one of the most technically advanced and controversial machines in the world.
