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UK MoD announces who will build navy's new aircraft carriers
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| 30 January 2003 |
By Darren Lake, JDW Staff Reporter, London. Additional reporting by David Mulholland, JDW Business Editor, London
On 30 January UK Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon announced that the result of the competition between BAE Systems and Thales UK to build the Royal Navy's next generation of aircraft carriers would be a tripartite alliance between the two companies and the Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Hoon told Parliament that both companies' bids had merit, but that after deliberation the MoD had decided to turn away from a single winner and give both companies a share of the work on the £2.9 billion ($4.7 billion) programme. Although final arrangements have yet to be made, BAE Systems will be prime contractor on the programme. Hoon said that the company had shown a "proven capability" to manage programmes.
However, the MoD settled on the Thales design, described as more innovative, as the one with which the two companies will move forward and Thales is being described as a 'key supplier' on the programme. The two vessels will be built at four dockyards in the UK - Vosper Thornycroft, Southampton; BAE Systems Marine, Glasgow; Swan Hunter, Wallsend-on-Tyne; and Babcock, Rosyth.
The government's decision was described as a 'fudge' by the opposition and there are concerns over how the tripartite alliance will function and what the long-term effects will be on smart procurement practice.
The MoD made a major U-turn in its contracting for the programme by requiring the two companies to perform a risk-sharing alliance and itself taking a small share of the risk. This was greeted with enthusiasm by BAE Systems and was characterised a BAE official as "a positive change". However, Thales is believed to be less enthusiastic and worried about its long-term involvement.
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| Artist's impression showing Thales' design for the new aircraft carrier to be produced in a tripartite alliance between Thales, BAE Systems and the UK MoD. (Thales) |