September 7, 2009
As the first sections of the Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers arrive at the Rosyth dockyard where they will be assembled, work is continuing apace to deliver the machinery, fixtures and fittings that will equip the ships.
The Ministry of Defence has announced that sub-contracts for the new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers worth over £52m for a wide range of equipment have been placed, helping to secure jobs and sustain work for industry across the UK.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:
"As well as the everyday essentials such as washing machines and TVs that will make the ship’s company comfortable onboard, the contracts announced today provide for some of the highly sophisticated equipment that will make these ships fit for the Royal Navy of the 21st century.
"With construction well underway and the first units of the pre-fabricated units having arrived at the dockyard in Rosyth where they will be assembled, the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers are beginning to take shape."
The UK is procuring two new aircraft carriers for the Royal Navy - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. The carriers will be the biggest and most powerful surface warships ever constructed for the Royal Navy and will deliver an increased strategic effect and influence around the world.
The ships will be delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance - an innovative alliance comprising industry participants and MOD in which MOD acts as both client and participant. For the manufacture phase the industrial participants will be the BAES/VT planned Joint Venture, Thales, Babcock and BAES (Surface Ships & Insyte).
Tony Graham, Head of Capital Ships within MOD's Defence Equipment & Support, said:
"The vast majority of Queen Elizabeth Class supply contracts have now been placed. These latest orders begin to close out the few remaining supply agreements needed to finish HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
"Our supply chain stretches the length and breadth of the UK and as such we recognise that the build of these two important warships is a national endeavour of great consequence for jobs, skills and local pride."
The sub-contracts include: £16m for 12,000 valves by Score Marine Ltd, based in Peterhead, who employ 675 people at the site; £15m for an integrated waste management system managed by Babcock Strachan and Henshaw in Bristol, helping to sustain employment for their suppliers for the next six to eight years; and £3m for ship lighting and lighting distribution panels by McGeoch Technology Ltd, based in Birmingham, as well as several other smaller contracts.
The Queen Elizabeth Class carriers together with the Joint Strike Fighter aircraft and the brand new Type 45 destroyers will form the cornerstone of Britain's future ability to jointly project airpower world-wide from land or sea at a time and place of the UK's choosing.
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Contract win, CVF (Future Aircraft Carrier) Program
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