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US 'taken aback' by HMS Astute 06 March 2012 The United States Navy was 'blown away' by the performance of HMS Astute during sea trials in the Atlantic recently, the ship's commanding officer has said. Commander Ian Breckenridge, 45, led HMS Astute through four-and-a-half months of sea trials off the US east coast and said the submarine had demonstrated "tremendous capability". "We met and surpassed every expectation. She is just better than any other submarine I have ever been on," he said. During the trials, Astute took part in simulated battles with American Virginia Class submarine USS New Mexico, deep...

Jinxed submarine HMS Astute finally fires its first missile... and it went without a hitch Chris Slack The jinxed submarine HMS Astute has successfully fired its first missile during a test mission in the Gulf of Mexico, the Ministry of Defence has confirmed The submarine fired a series of Tomahawk missiles at up to 550 miles per hour, a spokeswoman confirmed. Each missile is 5.5-metres in length, weighs 1,300kg and has a range of 1,000 miles. The successful firing comes seven months after a crew member was killed during a shooting incident when the submarine was in dock at Southampton....

   EXCLUSIVE    Tour navy's £1.2bn super sub  Sneaky peek ... inside the super sub 1. Shrouded Propulsor 2. Upper Rudder Segment 3. Lower Rudder Segment 4. Starboard Hydroplane 5. Aft Anchor Light 6. Rudder and Hydroplane Hydraulic Actuators 7. No.4 Main Ballast Tank 8. Propeller Shaft 9. High Pressure Bottles 10. No.3 Main Ballast Tank 11. Towed Array Cable Drum and Winch 12. Main Ballast Vent System 13. Aft Pressure Dome 14. Air TReatment Units 15. Naval Stores 16. Propeller Shaft Thrust Block and Bearing 17. Circulating Water Transfer Pipes 18. Lubricating Oil Tank 19. Starboard Condenser 20....