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BAE Systems awards contracts worth £100m to British suppliers
BAE Systems has awarded five new contracts to suppliers worth more than £100m, as progress on the Type 26 frigate programme continues apace at the company’s shipyards in Glasgow.
The new contracts will support 250 jobs, with the Type 26 programme sustaining more than 4,000 jobs in total across the UK. More than £1bn has been invested across the programme’s supply chain to date, with more than 100 suppliers globally.
The contract awards come as construction on the final unit of the first Type 26 frigate, HMS Glasgow, begins. All 57 units of the anti-submarine warfare ship are now under construction.
BAE Systems has awarded a further five contracts to British suppliers worth more than £100m / Picture: John Linton/BAE Systems
The suppliers awarded each of the five new contracts will contribute essential work to the programme as HMS Glasgow moves to the outfit phase in readiness to enter the water for the first time. The contracts have been awarded to:
• Denholm Industrial Services (Glasgow) – surface preparation and painting
• Malin Group (Glasgow) – vessel load out and float off
• CBL (Hartlepool) – cable and associated works
• Kaefer (Nottingham) – insulation products and installation services
• SCA (Dorset) – access and containment
Steve Timms, managing director at BAE Systems Naval Ships, said: “Each of our new suppliers brings a unique capability that is essential to ensure the safe and continued progress of this nationally important programme. It’s fantastic to see the first of class, HMS Glasgow, taking shape at our facilities here on the Clyde. She is a source of great pride for our workforce who have worked with real energy, commitment and innovation in recent months to ensure we meet our customer commitments.”
The new contracts will support 250 jobs, with the Type 26 programme sustaining more than 4,000 jobs across the UK / Picture: John Linton/BAE Systems
Secretary of state for defence, Ben Wallace MP, added: “The Type 26 programme has proven itself in terms of cutting-edge design, international defence exports and creating and sustaining British jobs. This latest round of contract awards will see companies from the south coast of England to the banks of the Clyde benefit from over 250 highly-skilled jobs and multi-million pound investment.”
Designed and built by BAE Systems in Glasgow, the Type 26 frigate is an advanced anti-submarine warship, which will deliver critical protection of the Royal Navy’s Continuous At Sea Deterrent and Carrier Strike Group. The Type 26 builds on the pedigree of the Royal Navy’s current Type 23 anti-submarine warfare frigates which continue to serve the nation.
Each Type 26 will be equipped with a range of world-class capabilities including the Sea Ceptor missile defence system, a 5-inch medium calibre gun, flexible mission bay, Artisan 997 medium-range radar, powerful bow and towed array sonars.