BVT can boast aircraft carrier success at Seawork
BVT Surface Fleet will once again be returning to Seawork this year and have reserved space on the floating pontoon.
The big news from the company is that it will now be building several other sections of the British Royal Navy’s two new super aircraft carriers as approved by The Alliance Management Board of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance (ACA).The company already knew that it was going to be building parts of the centre sections of the hull for the 65,000 tonne ships, but it will now also be building the superstructures and parts of the sterns also.
The news comes as a result of the ACA’s revision to the build strategy that will deliver the UK’s two Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
The bow section will be built by Babcock’s yards at Appledore and Rosyth. The stern section will be built by BVT on the Clyde and the overhanging upper hull structure will be manufactured by Babcock Marine. Final assembly and integration of the two warships will be undertaken by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance partners at Rosyth.
The ACA has also announced further shipbuilding orders worth up to £150M to UK shipyards. A&P Tyne on Tyneside and Cammell Laird on Merseyside have both
been named as preferred bidders for the build of the large central upper blocks. This will secure further UK manufacturing jobs in addition to the £570m in equipment sub-contracts already placed with UK companies for the two new warships.
Commenting on the revised build strategy, Geoff Searle, programme director for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers said, ‘The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has developed a cost effective and low risk build strategy that I am confident will deliver the two carriers in line with the MOD’s requirements. It will also ensure that we retain the essential core skills in the UK maritime industry to deliver sovereign naval capability long into the future.’
The innovative Aircraft Carrier Alliance is a single integrated team formed from BVT Surface Fleet, Babcock, BAE Systems, Thales UK and the MOD. It is responsible for delivering the Queen Elizabeth Class ships on time and on cost.
HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales will be the Royal Navy’s largest vessels. They were initially due to enter service in 2014 and 2016, but this has now been pushed back due to a review of MoD spending. Building work is expected to begin this spring.
