The largest attack submarine in the Royal Navy arrives at its Scottish base today.
The Astute is a "hunter-killer" submarine and does not require refuelling. It is longer than 10 London buses at 328ft and weighs 7,400 tonnes when it is under the water.
The boat, which is the first of the Astute Class to enter service and has a crew of 98, will be based at the naval base in Faslane in Gare Loch, Argyll and Bute.
A Royal Navy spokesman said: "The technology built into them is more sophisticated than that on current space shuttles."
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has ordered three more Astute Class submarines.
Last updated: 20 November 2009, 18:52 GMT
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