Full steam ahead for aircraft carriers deal

May 20 2008 Evening Gazette

DEFENCE ministers will sign off an order today for the largest aircraft carriers ever built at a UK shipyard.

HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which will carry 50 joint strike fighters between them, were described today as providing “the cornerstone of the British ship building industry for the next 30 to 40 years”.

It is hoped that the two principal contractors - BAE Systems and VT Group - will create a joint venture, BTV, by July to take the project forward.

Northern Defence Industries, representing a supply chain cluster of SMEs working in the defence sector, has already said it expects a substantial amount of the £4bn contract to come to the Tees.

The order, which has been eagerly anticipated on Teesside, has been on the blocks for more than five years, but was delayed because of budget constraints.

NDI has already held talks with the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, made up of BAE, VT and Babcock International, and is planning to bring representatives to the region for a second time.

The awarding of subcontracts for the project will be the biggest test yet of the recently introduced Defence Industry Strategy, a legacy of former defence procurement manager Lord Drayson, which aims to ensure small British companies are not overlooked in the procurement for government-funded defence projects.

Dutch owned firm Heerema of Hartlepool is hopeful of securing a fabrication contract, while firms working on weapons systems, radar, electronics and routine engineering would also be in the running for orders, said NDI.

A spokesman for NDI said the region had the requisite skills to provide complicated kit including weapons systems, electronics and more straightforward engineering projects such as pipes and ducts - all of which are vital to the shipbuilding process.