BAE Systems will soon start procuring long lead items for the Vanguard Successor Programme after government confirmed two contracts totalling £79m.
The Vanguard Successor programme will see the construction of submarines capable of carrying the UK’s nuclear deterrent from 2028.
The £79m procurement contracts for the programme were announced yesterday by the Ministry of Defence. This includes two major procurement contracts of £47m and £32m.
The MoD award of these contract to BAE builds on the defence contractor’s contribution to the design of a replacement for the Vanguard class submarines which carry Trident today.
This design activity is worth around £642m and is carried out by BAE in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. Other partners in the design of the submarine include Babcock and Rolls-Royce.
Tony Johns, Managing Director of BAE Systems Maritime – Submarines, said: “The award of these first procurement contracts is a significant milestone and further underlines the Government’s commitment to BAE Systems and the submarine programme.
“The design of a nuclear powered submarine is incredibly complex and we continue to make good progress in the engineering phase of the programme,” continued Mr Johns. “The first submarine is due to be in service by 2028, so to achieve that target it’s essential we begin the procurement process now to ensure we can start construction on time.”
The Vanguard Successor programme employs around 2,000 people in total. Approximately 1,300 are employed by BAE Systems and this number is due to rise. In 2014 BAE Systems plans to recruit upwards of 540 additional employees across a range of job roles to support the programme.
This figure includes 240 apprentices, who will be recruited to work on both the remaining Astute Class submarines and the Successor programme.
