Under Secretary of State and Minister for Defence Procurement Lord Bach said the cruise missiles would be fitted with non-nuclear warheads.

Some British submarines already boast first-generation Tomahawks.

The new TLAM/Tomahawk Land Attack Missiles can be fired from the seven Trafalgar class nuclear attack submarines (SNA) which are already in service, said Bach.

They will also be fitted onto future Astute class SNAs once they are operational.

The Tomahawks are made by the Massachusetts-based Raytheon company, a world leader in developing defence technologies.

British submarines have fired Tomahawk missiles during conflicts in Kosovo, Afghanistan and Iraq.

WAR.WIRE