Devonport. In 2014 the MOD announced a plan to decommission 7 of the submarines awaiting disposal, in a project expected to take 12 years. A site for the intermediate-level nuclear waste produced is expected to be identified by 2016. A trial dismantling of a nuclear submarine is planned to start in January 2016 at Rosyth. In 2018, the UK Parliament's Public Accounts Committee criticised the slow rate of decommissioning of these submarines, with the Ministry of Defence admitting that it had put off decommissioning due to the cost. The National Audit Office in 2019 stated that the accumulative costs of laid up storage had reached £500 million, and they represent a liability of £7.5 billion. in 2019 it has been acknowledged that the UK has more obsolete submarines than they have in service, a problem that has been ignored for over 50 years as the UK do not currently have a clear funding plan for defuelling and dismantling of these submarines. The US have been decommissioning nuclear submarines for many years in a programme that is self funding by recycling many of the components. It's possible that their expertise in decommissioning could be leverage in securing submarine building contracts from the UK. Future submarines A total force of seven fleet submarines is planned. As of August 2022, the first five boats are in commission and in service, while boats six and seven are in various stages of construction. Boat number seven was confirmed in the October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review and long-lead items have been ordered. The Astute-class submarine is the largest nuclear fleet submarine ever to serve with the Royal Navy, being nearly 30% larger than its predecessors. Its powerplant is the Rolls-Royce PWR2 reactor, developed for the Vanguard-class SSBN. The submarine's armament consists of up to 38 Spearfish torpedoes and Tomahawk Block IV land-attack cruise missiles. The replacement class for the SSBNs was ordered in 2016 and is named the after its lead boat. The programme will seek to replace one-for-one the current four ballistic missile submarines starting sometime during the early 2030s. There is also a plan for a Maritime Underwater Future Capability (MUFC), that is, a successor to the Astute-class SSN. MUFC is also known as the 'Astute Replacement Nuclear Submarine (SSN (R))'. See also List of submarine classes of the Royal Navy List of submarines of the Royal Navy Royal Navy Submarine Museum