Contracts to support and maintain hundreds of high-speed rigid inflatable boats (RIBs) and other small boats that are used to protect the UK’s shores were awarded to BAE Systems last month by the Ministry of Defence (MoD).

The six-year contracts will help to sustain existing skilled jobs and create new ones at BAE Systems’ Maritime Services business in Portsmouth Naval Base.

The company will be responsible for the maintenance and support of more than 650 boats in 27 different classes, including those used by the MoD Police, British Army and Royal Marines, and those operated from Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary vessels.

These small boats (up to 18m long) are operated from a variety of locations around the UK, including Portsmouth, Devonport and Clyde Naval Bases, as well as in other naval environments such as the training school, HMS Raleigh and at RM Poole.

Other armed-forces sites include Longmoor and Chatham.

There will be new jobs for shipwrights and mechanical and electrical fitters, and recruitment is already underway.

Brooke Hoskins, BAE Systems products and training services director, said: “We have an excellent team and a proud heritage of small-boats expertise, dating back to the 1950s, so securing these important new contracts in a highly competitive environment is fantastic news, particularly for local jobs.”