Contracts worth £333m have been awarded by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance to British manufacturers to help build the Royal Navy's new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
Five sub-contracts have been awarded to suppliers from Glasgow to Portsmouth for equipment to be installed on the ships and services for their assembly, bringing the total value of sub-contracts awarded so far on the programme to almost £1.1bn.
These contracts and sub-contracts represent the vast majority of the equipment orders for the Queen Elizabeth Class Carriers, with the two future aircraft carriers expected to form the cornerstone of the UK’s naval capability, given their expected service life of approximately 50 years.
Sub-contracts have been awarded by the ACA to:
• Imtech Marine & Offshore Ltd in Billingham, Teesside and Portsmouth for heating, ventilation and air conditioning, worth £120m
• Ship Support Services Ltd based near Rosyth for paint and scaffolding for the build process, worth £105m
• Henry Abrams in Glasgow for transport of sections of the ship from the yards across the UK to Rosyth for final assembly, worth £85m
• Tyco in Manchester for fixed fire fighting systems, worth £15m
• AEI Cables in Birtley, Co Durham for much of the 2,500 km of cabling to be installed, worth £8m
ACA programme director, Geoff Searle, said, “I am delighted to announce these substantial contracts for work on the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier programme, covering the vital services that run throughout the ships, as well as essential elements of the actual shipbuild process itself. The majority of these contracts will support local economies and jobs throughout the UK regions.”
