THE first of four new submarines being built in Cumbria to carry Trident nuclear missiles has been named, the Ministry of Defence has announced.

The name 'Dreadnought' has been approved for the lead boat and the class name of the Successor submarines forming the £31 billion overhaul of the UK's constant at-sea deterrent.

Defence Secretary Michael Fallon said: "Every day our ballistic missile submarines are used to deter the most extreme threats to Britain’s security.

"We cannot know what dangers we might face in the 2030s, 2040s and 2050s, so we are building the new Dreadnought class.

"Along with increasing the defence budget to buy new ships, more planes, and armoured vehicles, this commitment shows we will never gamble with our security."

Named 56 years after the launch of Britain’s first nuclear-powered submarine of the same name, Dreadnought has extensive historical significance with nine Royal Navy ships taking the name.

A previous Dreadnought sailed with Sir Francis Drake to repel the Spanish Armada; another was present with Nelson at Trafalgar, where her gunnery was acknowledged to be the most devastating of any ship present. But the most famous of all was the ninth Dreadnought – a battleship so advanced that it rendered all others obsolete at a stroke. And it was 99 years ago this December that the United States Navy sent four of its own dreadnoughts to join the Royal Navy’s Grand Fleet in Scapa Flow.

Construction of the new fleet commended earlier this month when Mr Fallon attended a steel-cutting ceremony at Barrow's BAE Systems, and the nuclear submarines will begin to appear in the 2030s.

The Successor programme currently employs 2,600 people across the MoD with nearly 2,000 of these jobs at BAE Systems. At the height of construction in the early 2020s, the Barrow company anticipates it will employ more than 5,000 staff.