Devonport Naval Base Upgrade
Devonport’s infrastructure programme is upgrading docks, berths and support facilities for Royal Navy submarine maintenance. Babcock’s current scope includes major work at 10 Dock and the 5 Basin berths, the close-out of 9 Dock buildings and improvements to the Submarine Refit Complex.[1]
Current position
Babcock opened its new Skills Centre at Devonport on 23 October 2026. It also broke ground on a separate logistics hub at Sherford, intended to consolidate more than 30 logistics locations and free space for submarine support at the dockyard. The June results report records continuing upgrades to 10 Dock and the 5 Basin berths.
Why it matters
Devonport is an operating naval dockyard while its infrastructure is being rebuilt. The 10 Dock programme provides a dock, berth and associated logistics and support facilities for future submarine maintenance. Babcock also described separate work at 9 Dock for the Vanguard class; these are related parts of a wider site upgrade, not a single new dock.
Benefits
- The works provide long-term maintenance infrastructure for the UK submarine fleet; Babcock said the 10 Dock construction programme would create a further 1,000 construction roles.
- Upgraded dock facilities restore the ability to maintain two nuclear-powered submarines in parallel. Babcock also opened a Devonport Skills Centre in October 2026 with capacity to support 1,500 technical staff and apprentices each year.