Writing for the
UK Defence Journal, George Allison (owner and editor-in-chief) reports that Babcock recently announced it will lead a team of industry partners in a bid for the new £1.25 billion Type 31e Frigate, with work to be undertaken in Scotland, England and Northern Ireland.
Mr Allison says the build plan for the Type 31 Frigates is expected to follow a similar pattern to that of the Queen Elizabeth carriers and early Type 45 Destroyers, with ‘blocks’ being built in yards around the UK and assembled at one location. “Modern shipbuilding makes considerable use of prefabricated sections.
Entire multi-deck segments of the hull may be built elsewhere around the UK, transported to the building dock or slipway, then lifted into place and assembled into one ship.
This block construction is particularly cost-effective, as yards pre-install equipment, pipes, electrical cables and any other components within the blocks, minimising the effort needed to assemble or install components deep within the hull once it is welded together.
“Babcock will act as the programme leader, while Thales (
www.thalesgroup.com) will have overall responsibility for developing the ‘Mission System’.
Babcock says the make-up of the team will ensure that the economic benefits of the programme are shared across the UK. Ferguson Marine on the Clyde, Harland & Wolff in Belfast and the Babcock facilities in Fife and Devon will all have ‘key roles to play’, while much of the equipment provided by Thales and others will support jobs across
the UK.”
Babcock (
www.babcockinternational.com) CEO Archie Bethel said: “Team 31 will allow Babcock and Thales to take forward the key lessons from the Aircraft Carrier Alliance and apply them in a new and highly capable team with Harland & Wolff, consultancy group BMT and Ferguson Marine.
"We firmly believe that our combined skills can deliver an affordable and effective Type31e Frigate programme for the Royal Navy. With a high degree of UK content and the use of innovative technologies, we believe that our approach will deliver real benefits to UK plc.”