Bristol aircraft carrier team celebrate royal steel cutting ceremony
07 July 2009
A significant milestone in the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier programme was achieved today when The Princess Royal performed the steel cutting of the first of the ships at BVT Surface Fleet’s Govan shipyard in Glasgow.
The July 7 ceremony marks the start of construction of the Royal Navy’s largest ever warships. Ed Lowe, managing director of Thales UK’s naval business and John Ward, the lead Thales director on the programme, attended the event.
In Bristol, where the Thales-led aircraft carrier team is based, personnel celebrated the ceremony by cutting a cake made in the shape of the ship. The cake was cut by Neil Mounty and Robert Jarman, the longest serving and youngest members of the team respectively.
Reflecting on the day’s significance, Ed Lowe says: "For all those in our design teams who have been working so hard in the transition of the design into build, today's steel cutting ceremony in Glasgow is a tangible sign of real progress and an important step towards delivery of the Royal Navy's most important programme.”
As a founding member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), Thales UK leads the power and propulsion element of the programme. In addition, within the main alliance of the Ministry of Defence and industry, Thales is leading the platform design and aviation teams and participating in the mission systems team. Our Crawley-based naval communications business will be responsible for the communications aspects.
When in service with the Royal Navy, the ships will be named HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales.
- Ends -
Notes to editors
Thales UK’s Bristol-based design office: Here a team of currently 200+ naval architects, CAD modelling experts, marine engineers and aviation specialists have worked on the CVF design since 1998.
Thales UK’s Crawley-based naval communications business: Here a team of around 40 systems engineers work on a number of significant warship programmes for the Royal Navy, including CVF and the Type 45 destroyer.
About the Aircraft Carrier Alliance
The UK’s Future Aircraft Carriers are being constructed by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA), consisting of Thales UK, BAE Systems, BVT Surface Fleet, Babcock Marine and Ministry of Defence, which acts as both participant and client.
About Thales and Thales UK
Thales is a global technology leader for the Aerospace, Space, Defence, Security and Transportation markets. In 2008 the company generated revenues of £10.2 billion, with 68,000 employees in 50 countries. With its 25,000 engineers and researchers, Thales has a unique capability to design, develop and deploy equipment, systems and services that meet the most complex security requirements. Thales has an exceptional international footprint, with operations around the world working with customers as local partners.
Thales UK employs 8,500 staff based at more than 40 locations. In 2008 Thales UK's revenues were over £1.4 bn.
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