DERBY manufacturing giant Rolls-Royce has been chosen as a major contractor for a nuclear submarine's £300m refurbishment.

The Ministry of Defence announced yesterday that HMS Vigilant, one of four Vanguard submarines, would be docked for three-and-a-half years for a complete overhaul.

Part of the project will see Rolls-Royce build a nuclear reactor, which will power the submarine for its full 25 years of service.

The reactor will then be shipped to Plymouth, where the submarine is to be refurbished and kitted out with a new weapons system.

About 1,000 jobs will be safeguarded in Plymouth with the potential of sustaining a further 1,000 jobs across the industry.

It is not yet known if the contract will create extra jobs at Rolls-Royce's Raynesway plant, in Derby, but an MoD spokeswoman said the firm was the most important part of the project.

She said: "At the moment, submarines such as HMS Vigilant have to be refuelled but the new reactor core will mean it won't need to be refuelled at any stage during its lifetime.

"Building and installing the reactor core is the major, most important part of what will be a huge project."

Work on the reactor is the latest in a series of projects Rolls-Royce has carried out.

In 2007, it was commissioned to build parts for a new super-submarine, HMS Ambush, which is one of the Astute Class of submarines.

That project saw workers at Rolls-Royce build many of the 7,800-tonne sub's parts, including a long-life nuclear reactor core.

The core, which was the same type as the one being used for HMS Vigilant, is able to power submarines throughout their entire life span.

At the time, Rolls-Royce bosses hailed the work as "fantastic for the city".

Yesterday, the firm said it was unable to comment on its new contract because of its policy of not discussing customer matters.