The Ministry of Defence has awarded over £2 billion of defence contracts to start the third phase of its submarine nuclear deterrent programme.

The contracts have been awarded to BAE Systems, which has a facility in Gloucester, and Rolls-Royce to begin the Dreadnought programme, as reported by Merco Press.

The overall program will support around 30,000 jobs across the UK, from design through to build.

In 2021, the programme supported around 13,500 jobs in the North West and a further 16,300 over the rest of the UK.

HMS Dreadnought will be the first of four submarines to be delivered under the programme.

Jeremy Quin, defence procurement minister, said: "The Dreadnought class will be crucial to maintaining and safeguarding our national security, with the nuclear deterrent protecting every UK citizen from the most extreme threats, every minute of every day."

The Dreadnought class will be one of the most complex machines ever built. As the largest class of submarine ever built for the Royal Navy, each will have 26.4 miles of pipework and more than 20,000 cables stretching 215 miles on board.