Navy looks to accelerate Devonport submarine upgrades

The British Ministry of Defence is examining whether work at Devonport can be accelerated following a nuclear-regulatory review of the naval base's submarine-support infrastructure. The Devonport Infrastructure Programme is modernizing docks, waterfront facilities, maintenance berths, and defueling capability to support current submarines and future Astute-class work, within the broader £26 billion Project Royal Oak investment across Devonport, Portsmouth, and Clyde over the coming decade. Officials have not announced a revised construction sequence, completion date, or site-level funding breakdown, so acceleration remains under assessment rather than an approved schedule change.