The Dreadnought class boats will be the Royal Navy’s biggest and most technically advanced submarines when they begin to enter service from the early 2030s.

BAE Systems said the Dreadnought submarine programme is already supporting almost 30,000 jobs across the country.

Work on the first two boats in the class is underway at the company’s shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. As a result of the Dreadnought programme, £2.5 billion worth of contracts have already been placed with suppliers across the UK.

A BAE spokesman said: “In US and Humber there has been a total of £350m spent to date, including on gear boxes and steel. The programme is also supporting 2,500 jobs in the region.”

Steve Timms, managing director of BAE Systems’ Submarines business, said: “The Dreadnought programme is delivering critical sovereign defence capability that is fundamental to our national security and makes an important contribution to the country’s economic prosperity.

“It will sustain thousands of jobs and generate billions of pounds of investment into the middle of the next decade, benefitting every region of the UK. Barrow may be the birthplace of the UK’s submarines, but the programme is truly a national endeavour that we, the suppliers who help deliver the programme and the whole country, should be proud of.”

Secretary of State for Defence, Ben Wallace, said: “We maintain and develop the UK’s independent nuclear deterrent to counter the most extreme threats to the national security and way of life of both ourselves and our allies.

“This sovereign showcase in science and engineering highlights the prowess of British industry whilst investing billions into the economy, supporting tens of thousands of jobs and benefiting 1,500 companies across the four corners of the UK.”

The manufacture of the four boat fleet, which is designed to remain undetected for months at sea, is one of the largest and most complex engineering projects in the world.

It is estimated that it will take around 150 million work hours to design and manufacture the four Dreadnought class submarines.

More than 600 apprentices and 50 graduates are in training in the submarines business and over the next five years, a further 200 graduates and 1,500 apprentices will be recruited.