Astute was ordered from GEC's Marconi Marine (now BAE Systems Submarines) on 17 March 1997. She was laid down at BAE's submarine facility in Barrow-in-Furness on 31 January 2001, 100 years to the day after the keel was laid down for the Royal Navy's first submarine . She was the first submarine built in the UK since HMS Vengeance (launched in 1998).
