Scrap aircraft carrier call is slammed
A FORMER defence chief’s call for government to cut the multi billion pound aircraft carriers already being built in the North-east were described today as barmy by an organisation representing the contractors.
Northern Defence Industries, whose members have already signed agreements with the Ministry of Defence to supply £225m of kit for HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, said to cancel the project now would cost more in penalty clauses than the government would save.
Yesterday, Lord Guthrie, who was chief of the defence staff between 1997 and 2001, said the £5bn carriers project was among the “nice to have but non-essential” programmes, which also included a £20bn upgrade of Trident. He said they would “distort” the £30bn defence budget - which is already overspent - for years to come. The former army General limited his criticisms to equipment intended for the Navy and RAF.
Robin Fox, head of the cluster group Northern Defence Industries, said on a recent visit to shipyards in Newcastle, ministers had made clear the carrier project was at a ‘point of no return’.
As recently as January NDI member Imtech Marine Group’s subsidiary Imtech Marine & Offshore in Hebburn won a £120m contract to supply climate control technology for the carriers. Darchem at Stillington has an £8m engineering contract, and Billingham-based McGill Services is working on a £23m contract for modular cabins and wet spaces for the carriers, as well as a £4m order for furniture.
“NDI has the carrier programme in its DNA and will continue to promote the excellence of the SME supply chain to this and future naval ship programmes,” said Mr Fox, who will give the opening address at NDI’s annual conference in Leeds on March 25 and 26. Among the speakers will be Bernard Gray, author of last year’s controversial report into Ministry of Defence procurement. Defence is a major and growing sector for many Teesside companies, said Mr Fox.
At 64,000 tons the carriers will be the largest warships built for and operated by the Royal Navy. The first is due to come into service around 2016 and has a 50-year life span.
NDI has been engaged in the carrier programme since 2001 when it began working with Thales and then BAE Systems for whom it helped identify ship building and supplier capability from NDI companies, many in the North-east.
In 2004 its conference focussed on the case for a new approach to the project by bringing together all of the potential participants in government, the Royal Navy, the MOD and suppliers in what was subsequently acknowledged as a major step change in thinking on how such a huge project could be executed. It has since been engaged in procurement studies for the MOD.
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