Does Rolls-Royce Make Military Submarines?

There are, as the age-old saying goes, few certainties in life. But one thing's for sure: anyone familiar with high-end automobiles knows that a vehicle with the Rolls-Royce emblem or classic Pantheon grille guarantees style and luxury. Of course, piloting a Rolls-Royce branded vehicle like the powerful Black Badge Spectre will set you back some serious coin these days. There are, however, vehicles being manufactured under the Rolls-Royce name that cost considerably more than even the priciest vehicles bearing the iconic "RR" badge.

No, it's not that fabled Rolls-Royce pickup truck some of you might've heard about. Rather, it is an actual military-grade submarine whose price tag per unit is not explicitly known, but is estimated to somewhere in the range of tens of billions of dollars. And yes, while many may not realize it, Rolls-Royce does, in fact, play a part in the production of nuclear vessels for the Royal Navy's submarine program.

It turns out that Rolls-Royce has had dealings with the Royal Navy for the better part of the past 60 years, largely in designing and supplying the nuclear propulsion plant for the seafaring wing of the British military. That partnership is set to continue for several more years, as Rolls-Royce secured an $11 billion contract (9 billion pounds) to make reactors for the Royal Navy in January 2025.

You might've guessed by now, but the Rolls-Royce operation responsible for manufacturing the luxurious vehicles that made the name famous is not the same as the one that's been aiding the Royal Navy with its submarine program for the past six decades. The latter outfit actually goes by the name Rolls-Royce Submarine and is a subsidiary of Rolls-Royce plc, which has nothing to do with the BMW-owned Rolls Royce Motor Cars that builds cars like the Rolls-Royce Ghost Series II.

We should, however, make clear that Rolls-Royce Submarine does not build the submarines themselves. Rather, the English company produces the nuclear propulsion systems that power them. The vessels themselves are largely manufactured by BAE Systems, which has a long-standing partnership with the Royal Navy. As for Rolls-Royce, the subsidiary makes and delivers the Nuclear Steam Raising Plants (or NSRP) as well as parts for the secondary propulsion systems, including turbo-generators and propulsors.

Those parts and systems power many subs in the current range of the Royal Navy's nuclear fleet, and are largely produced in the Rolls-Royce Submarines Operations Centre in Derby, England. Rolls-Royce's submarine division also provides support to vessels when they dock at England's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard, as well as naval bases at Devonport and Faslane. Apart from those locales, Rolls-Royce also operates offices for technical specialists in Glasgow, Scotland and Cardiff, Wales and also runs a special testing facility in Caithness, Scotland.