Her husband Admiral Sir George Zambellas, the First Sea Lord and head of the Naval Service, said: “This is a ‘red letter day’ that marks the beginning of the next crucial stage of development for the Royal Navy and its Submarine Service.”
Since being handed over to the Royal Navy by BAE Systems Submarines last December, Artful has been conducting trials to prove her systems and equipment at sea. The highlight was firing six heavyweight Spearfish torpedoes at the British Underwater Testing and Evaluation Centre, near the Isle of Skye.
Artful’s two sister boats, Astute and Ambush, have travelled to the Mediterranean and the Middle East, where they have been involved in anti-smuggling and security operations and have provided Tomahawk Land Attack Missile capability in support of anti-terrorism operations.
