BAE Systems wins £5.9 billion UK submarine contract

LONDON, July 29 (Reuters) - BAE Systems has been awarded a £5.9 billion ($7.8 billion) contract by the British government to advance work on the country's next generation of nuclear-armed submarines, the company said late on Wednesday.

The contract involves work on the next phase of Britain's Dreadnought class of submarines, BAE Systems said in a statement.

• It is part of a wider £8.4 billion package approved by parliament for the defence ministry to fund Britain's continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent.

• Prime Minister Andy Burnham will announce the investment on Thursday on a visit to BAE's Barrow-in-Furness shipyard in northwest England, where the new submarines are being built, a separate statement by the government said.

• Four Dreadnought submarines are on order, with the first due to be delivered to the Royal Navy in the early 2030s.

• The new boats will replace the ageing Vanguard fleet, it said.

• The contract will support tens of thousands of jobs and thousands of companies across the UK supply chain, including 22,000 apprenticeships by 2035, the government said.

($1 = 0.7522 pounds)

(Reporting by Sarah Young; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)