And so Astute becomes another first for the Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, which continues its proud tradition of having built every first of class submarine for the Royal Navy.

Perhaps fittingly, the commissioning of HMS Astute into the Royal Navy comes almost 50 years after the first nuclear powered submarine the shipyard designed and constructed, HMS Dreadnought, was launched from the Barrow yard. Astute, at almost double the weight in displacement and packed with the kind of technology Dreadnought’s crew could have only dreamed of, is a tribute to the pioneering advances in submarine design and construction made possible by all those responsible for its delivery.

A keen observer of her progress will be Her Royal Highness The Duchess of Cornwall who, as Lady Sponsor of HMS Astute, was the guest of honour at both the submarine’s spectacular launch and her commissioning ceremony. Hundreds of guests, thousands of onlookers and brilliant sunshine gave the launch event the platform it deserved as the nation’s media got the first look at the next generation of attack submarine.

The attention now focuses on the rest of the boats in the seven-strong Astute class, with Ambush, Artful and Audacious all following a similar journey. While each is at a different stage in its construction, all are benefiting from the lessons learned on the first of class.

As the class progresses, images of the submarines will be seen more and more in newspapers and on television. For those lucky enough to see the submarines, in build at the Barrow shipyard, or the privileged few who get to board the vessel and look round inside its hull, it is a truly jaw-dropping experience to witness at first hand just what goes into the construction of these magnificent submarines. Nothing prepares you for seeing a submarine of this size when it is just a matter of feet away. As the true complexity of this true feat of engineering is revealed before your eyes, then seeing really is believing.