Editing Astute-class submarine (section)

===''Astute'' programme===
Following two years of a studies phase on B2TC, the MOD issued a draft [[invitation to tender]] in October 1993 and a final invitation to tender in July 1994.<ref name="RAND"/> The final invitation to tender involved a formal competition between [[GEC-Marconi]]/[[BMT Limited]] and [[Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering Ltd.|VSEL]]/[[Rolls-Royce Marine Power Operations|Rolls-Royce]], with bids to be submitted in June 1995.<ref name="RAND"/> GEC-Marconi and BMT had little experience with British submarine designs, whereas VSEL and Rolls-Royce were heavily involved in both British nuclear submarine design and construction.

During the assessment phase of the bids put forward by both teams, the MOD favoured the GEC-Marconi/BMT design on both cost and capability grounds.<ref name="RAND"/> The bid put forward by VSEL/Rolls-Royce was less attractive and considered "an expensive and dull design."<ref name="RAND"/> In June 1995, VSEL was subject to a takeover by GEC-Marconi, and with it, the Barrow shipyard. In December of the same year, the MOD announced that GEC-Marconi was the preferred bidder. The bid put forward by GEC-Marconi included the innovative use of [[3D modeling|3D CAD software]] and modular construction techniques. Although the MOD had awarded the contract to GEC-Marconi, partly due to its competitive cost, it was still considered too high for the MOD to sign off on.<ref name="RAND"/> The MOD and GEC-Marconi negotiated on a new price for the contract, amounting to £2.4 billion for the first three ''Astute'' submarines, plus in-service support. The contract was signed on 14 March 1997, for what was now called the ''Astute'' programme, with a fixed maximum price, and any cost overruns being assumed by GEC-Marconi, the contractor.<ref name="RAND"/>

Although B2TC was intended to be a modest improvement over the ''Trafalgar'' class, it was not to be the case for ''Astute''. With the signing of the contract in March 1997, GEC-Marconi started work on developing a complete and comprehensive design for the ''Astute'' programme.<ref name="RAND"/> Initial realisation was that the size of the [[Rolls-Royce PWR|Rolls-Royce PWR2]] required a much larger boat (beam and length) and significantly improved acoustic quieting. A new understanding was reached between the MOD and GEC-Marconi that this would be an entirely new class, and far more complex than originally envisioned.<ref name="RAND"/>