£20m worth of new contracts awarded for new aircraft carriers
06 April 2010
The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has awarded a further £20m worth of new contracts to UK companies for work on the new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, which are currently under construction at five ship yards across the country.
Tactical communications systems, which will provide short-range radio links for each ship to ‘talk’ to other UK, international military and commercial ships, aircraft, or land-based forces, will be supplied under a £6m contract with Thales UK, securing approximately 30 jobs at the firm’s Crawley site.
The other contracts announced today are;
* Cullum Detuners Ltd in Derby has won a £5m contract for designing and manufacturing the enclosure that the Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine engines will be fitted into as well as integration work for the overall gas turbine alternator. The housing will be acoustically designed to lessen engine noise. The work is expected to sustain 40-50 jobs in the first year and 20-30 from 2012-2014.
* Aker Qserv in Aberdeen has won a £5m contract to provide preservation and flushing services which will protect all the pipe work on the ships, from the lifts hydraulics to the fuel system, from rusting which reduces maintenance. Between 20 and 30 staff will work on the contract.
* Darchem in Stockton on Tees has won a £2.6m contract for folding fire barriers on both ships, which can be deployed quickly in an emergency to prevent the spread of fire.
* BAE Systems has been awarded a £1.2m contract to design and build the ships’ Pole Masts. Sensors and other equipment to enable Air Traffic Control and tactical operations will be mounted to the Pole Masts, which will be 17m high and located on top of the aft (rear) island of the ships.
* Cablofil in Sutton Weaver has won an £800,000 contract for a system to organise cables throughout the ships. The system will use 120,000 metres of steel wire tray that will contain the many kilometres of cabling running through the ships.
Announcing the contract awards, ACA Programme Director Geoff Searle said: “This is another major step forward on the programme to build these two new aircraft carriers for the UK armed forces. The ACA has awarded contracts to suppliers in almost every region of the UK, which will have a positive impact on local economies up and down the country.
“The contractors working on the Queen Elizabeth Class play a vital role in the build and integration of both ships and collectively we will strive to ensure that the both ships will be of the highest possible standard.”
Minister for Defence, Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said: “These contracts make up some £1.2bn worth of sub-contracts placed for equipment onboard the new aircraft carriers which are securing thousands jobs throughout the supply chain across the length and breadth of the UK. Placing these contracts now ensures that equipment is ready in plenty of time to be delivered when it is required in the build programme, keeping the build programme on schedule and ensuring best value for money.
“Construction of the first ship, which will be the biggest and most powerful ever built for the Royal Navy, is well under way and the first complete section of hull was shipped earlier this week from Appledore in Devon to Rosyth in Scotland where the ship will be assembled.”
Notes to editors:
1. The contract to build the two new Aircraft Carriers was signed on 3rd July 2008. Funding for these new equipment contracts form part of the existing financial commitment by the MOD announced under this original contract.
2. The contract with Cullum Detuners is the last major contract to be placed by the Power and Propulsion sub-alliance. Led by Thales UK, the sub-alliance manages all the contracts for the power and propulsion systems that power the ships’ systems and propulsion, from the engines to the propellers.
3. The Queen Elizabeth class will be the cornerstone of the future Royal Navy. Each ship provides of four acres of sovereign territory from which to project airpower anywhere in the world. Other key facts:
* Displacement: 65,000 tonnes – over three times the size of the existing aircraft carriers
* Length: 280m – 90m longer than the existing aircraft carriers
* Width: 70m – twice the width of the existing aircraft carriers
* Range: 8,000 to 10,000 nautical miles
* Capacity for 40 aircraft – double that of the existing aircraft carrier
* 110MW power station on board each ship – enough to provide all of Portsea Island with power
* 1.5 million metres squared or 370 acres of paintwork (more than size of Hyde Park)
* 80,000 tonnes of steel on order; three times that used in Wembley Stadium
About the Aircraft Carrier Alliance
The innovative Aircraft Carrier Alliance is a single integrated team formed from Babcock, BAE Systems, Thales UK and the MOD (which acts as both partner and client) It is responsible for delivering the Queen Elizabeth Class ships to time and cost.
Alliancing allows for the collaborative delivery of the aircraft carriers by bringing together all interested parties with a vested financial interest to make decisions to achieve what is best for the project, as well as providing the most effective way of managing risk and reward.
Contact
Cat Thurogood
Aircraft Carrier Alliance
Email: catherine.thurogood@baesystems.com
Mobile: 07801 717 860
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