Astute Class submarine HMS Artful has officially become a Commissioned
Warship of the Royal Navy at a ceremony at HM Naval Base Clyde on March
18 2016. Guest of honour at the ceremony was the submarine's sponsor
Lady Zambellas, who had named Artful in September 2013, before her launch
in May 2014, in Barrow in Furness.
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Amanda
Zambellas was joined by her husband Admiral Sir George Zambellas, the
First Sea Lord and head of the Naval Service, representatives of the
companies involved in Artful's construction and operation as well as
the submarine's 150 crew, their families and friends.
"This is a red letter day that marks the beginning of the next
crucial stage of development for the Royal Navy and its Submarine Service,
“ said Admiral Sir George Zambellas, First Sea Lord and Chief
of Naval Staff.
Since she was handed over to the Royal Navy by BAE Systems Submarines
in December 2015, Artful has been conducting trials to prove her systems
and equipment at sea, ahead of her first operational deployment later
in 2017. The highlight of the trials was the firing of six heavyweight
Spearfish torpedoes on the British Underwater Testing and Evaluation
Centre near the Isle of Skye.
Artful is the first of the Royal Navy's submarines to be fitted with
the Common Combat System (CCS), which is regarded as the digital 'brain'
of the boat controlling its 'eyes', 'ears' and 'nervous system'. |
