“More autonomous, more resilient, more lethal – and British built.” With that pledge, the First Sea Lord set out the Royal Navy’s next chapter in London today, as ministers spelled out what a ‘hybrid Navy’ means for towns like Barrow, Sheffield and the wider North. Luke Pollard used the Sea Power Conference on 8 December to tie front‑line capability to long‑term industrial work back home.

Atlantic Bastion is the centrepiece. The Ministry of Defence says it will knit AI‑powered sensors, uncrewed vessels, ships, submarines and aircraft into a single undersea hunting web across the North Atlantic. Officials highlighted early contracts with around 20 firms and a ramp‑up of funding within a year, with the First Sea Lord adding that initial kit will be in the water from 2026. Ministers say the programme could secure 3,000–6,000 UK jobs as capability grows.

Why now is blunt. The MoD has flagged the Russian spy ship Yantar around UK waters and a sharp rise in hostile underwater activity. Senior Navy figures speaking at the same conference pointed to a 30% increase in Russian sightings in two years – a reminder that cable routes and pipelines running off our coastline need watching.

For Barrow‑in‑Furness, this agenda is already on the ground. The government’s £200m Barrow Transformation Fund is paying for skills, housing and transport to keep the submarine lines moving on Astute, Dreadnought and SSN‑AUKUS. “Barrow is at the heart of the UK’s submarine enterprise,” BAE’s Charles Woodburn said as ministers set out the plan earlier this year. The MoD says the defence nuclear workforce is 47,000 today and could grow to 65,000 by 2030.

South Yorkshire is also on the sheet. The government’s Industrial Strategy confirms new Defence Growth Deals in Plymouth, South Yorkshire, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, backed by a £250m pot for skills, innovation and sites. For advanced manufacturers across Sheffield, Rotherham and Doncaster, that’s a clearer demand signal tied to naval orders, not a short‑term grant.

Shipbuilding is moving again too. Steel was cut on the first Fleet Solid Support ship at Appledore on 3–4 December, with the vessel named RFA Resurgent. Pollard told delegates the contract under Team Resolute brings 170 apprenticeships, around 300 jobs at Appledore, about 900 in Belfast and hundreds more in the supply chain – with assembly under Belfast’s yellow cranes for the first government‑ordered ship in 22 years.

There’s still graft to do. Belfast’s yard is being modernised under its new owner Navantia UK, with ministers saying the takeover secured roughly 1,000 jobs across the group. Industry admits some early FSS work has had to shift to Spain while upgrades complete, with final assembly to follow in Belfast. The proof will be throughput in 2026 and beyond.

Closer to home for northern suppliers, DragonFire – the Navy’s first high‑energy laser – is moving from trials to the fleet. A £316m order aims to fit a Type 45 destroyer by 2027 after the system shot down high‑speed drones; officials say each shot costs around £10. The MoD says the programme backs nearly 600 skilled jobs across the UK, including sites in places like Bolton.

The fleet’s carrier arm has also clicked into place. Off Naples on 17 November, NATO declared the UK Carrier Strike Group centred on HMS Prince of Wales “mission ready” after exercises with allied F‑35s – a marker that today’s industrial promises are meant to deliver fighting power, not just contracts.

Exports matter for orders and wages. Norway’s £10bn agreement for Type 26 frigates – the UK’s biggest warship export by value – is forecast by the government to support 4,000 UK jobs and more than 400 businesses, with scope for northern firms in the supply chain. Joint UK‑Norway operations will bolster NATO’s northern flank.

Not all the tech sits in the North. In Plymouth, Helsing has opened a maritime factory to build autonomous underwater gliders that feed exactly the kind of sensing Atlantic Bastion relies on. Pollard says it brings an initial 50 jobs, with the company planning to scale to hundreds. The key point for readers here is supply‑chain pull: sensors, composites, electronics and data skills that northern firms already have.

The money question lingers. Downing Street has locked in 2.5% of GDP for defence by 2027 with an ambition for 3% in the next Parliament; Pollard also referenced a 3.5% goal by 2030. Senior commanders, meanwhile, are pushing publicly for 3.5% by 2035 and for the Defence Investment Plan to show where the cash lands. The direction is set; the delivery test sits with contracts, skills and yards from Barrow to the Clyde.