Rolls-Royce Submarines Opens Cardiff Office in Major Defence Nuclear Enterprise Expansion

Maritime October 23, 2025

Rolls-Royce Submarines has launched a new satellite office in St Mellons, Cardiff, creating over 100 highly skilled positions as part of the Ministry of Defence’s commitment to strengthening the UK’s nuclear deterrent capability.

The facility, inaugurated by First Minister Eluned Morgan and Rt Hon Jo Stevens MP for Cardiff East, will support critical work on the Dreadnought and AUKUS programmes through the Defence Nuclear Enterprise and Submarine Delivery Agency.

The Cardiff location has been strategically selected to tap into Wales’ engineering talent base, with recruitment focused on specialists in mechanical design, materials engineering, structural integrity analysis, thermal analysis and fluid dynamics.

The MoD-funded office reinforces the government’s whole-of-nation approach to delivering sovereign nuclear submarine capabilities. Rolls-Royce Submarines’ contract portfolio includes providing nuclear reactor plants for Australia’s SSN-AUKUS attack submarines under the trilateral AUKUS partnership, confirmed in March 2023.

The expansion reflects significant growth driven by increased MoD demand. Rolls-Royce Submarines currently employs over 5,000 personnel supporting design, manufacture and through-life support of pressurised water reactors powering the Royal Navy’s entire submarine fleet.

Steve Carlier, President of Rolls-Royce Submarines, said: “The Cardiff Satellite Office opening shows Rolls-Royce Submarines’ intent on attracting the brightest and best from across the UK. It also highlights the UK-wide economic benefit that investing in defence can bring.

“We are in a time of unprecedented growth for our business, and Rolls-Royce is dedicated to developing the current and future generations of nuclear talent to help power our ambitions. With the work secured from our AUKUS contracts, alongside the Dreadnought programme, and our future Novel Nuclear ambitions, there has never been a better and more exciting time to join our industry.“

The expansion signals growing opportunities across the nuclear submarine supply chain as the Defence Nuclear Enterprise scales to meet concurrent programme demands.

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