Do the Liberal Democrats Know ? – The MoD has let contracts worth £350m have been awarded today to UK companies to design the next generation of nuclear deterrent submarines.    The first Successor Submarine is due to be delivered in 2028, and start replacing the VANGUARD Class submarines.    Although a decision on the final design and build will not be made until 2016, detailed work has to take place now to ensure that the Successor Submarines will be the most technologically advanced, to protect our national security.     Contracts have been awarded to BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce.    The largest contract, worth £328m, has been awarded to BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines, which will work on the overall submarine design. Babcock has been awarded £15m and will focus on designing parts of the in service support. More than £4m has been paid to Rolls-Royce, which will be responsible for the integration of the reactor design.     In May 2011, the MOD announced approval for the design phase, costing £3bn. The contracts announced are part of that investment and are for the design of the Successor Submarines, not the missiles that they will carry.