The Royal Navy has commissioned the HMS Audacious (S122), its newest Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet attack submarine (SSN) equipped with the best sonar system in the world.

The 7,400 metric ton Audacious was built at a cost of $1.8 billion by BAE Systems Maritime- Submarines at its Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in Cumbria, northwest England. She fires Tomahawk land attack missiles (TLAMs) while submerged and Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes at enemy submarines and surface warships.

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Commissioned April 28, Audacious will soon undergo preliminary tests ahead of sea trials in 2018. She is the fourth of seven Astute-class submarines.

Three of her sisters (HMS Astute, HMS Artful and HMS Ambush) are in active service with the Royal Navy while three more (HMS Anson, HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax) are building.

HMS Astute (S119) was commissioned in 2009 while HMS Ajax (S125) will be commissioned in 2024.

The Astute-class is the largest and most advanced attack submarines operated by the Royal Navy.

"Ahead of Audacious, HMS Astute, Ambush and Artful are already contributing to operations and are well placed to protect both the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and the Continuous At Sea Deterrent," said the Royal Navy in a statement.

"The nuclear submarine remains the hallmark of a first-rate maritime power. Audacious, and the men and women of the Royal Navy submarine service, will give the UK a decisive advantage for decades to come."

Two capabilities of the Audacious and the Astute-class stand out: their world-beating sonar systems and stealth.

The Astute-class is equipped with the sophisticated Sonar 2076, an integrated passive/active search and attack sonar suite with bow, intercept, flank and towed arrays. BAE claims the 2076 is the world's best sonar system.

That claim was proven in 2012 when HMS Astute outfought the U.S. Navy's USS New Mexico (SSN-779), a Virginia-class fast attack submarine, in a one-on-one undersea duel. The Americans were reported as being "taken aback" by Astute's capabilities.

"Our sonar is fantastic and I have never before experienced holding a submarine at the range we were holding USS New Mexico. The Americans were utterly taken aback, blown away with what they were seeing," said Commander Iain Breckenridge, commander of the Astute at the time.

The sonar of the Astute-class is said to be so powerful it can detect ships leaving New York City's harbor from a listening point beneath the waters in the English Channel, 3,000 nautical miles away.

More than 39,000 acoustic tiles mask sonar signatures of the Astute-class, giving them noise signatures equivalent to that of a baby dolphin.

TagsRoyal Navy, HMS Audacious (S122), Astute-class nuclear-powered fleet attack submarine, Tomahawk land attack missiles, Spearfish heavyweight torpedoes, Sonar 2076, USS New Mexico (SSN-779)