The Defence Secretary, Sir , today unveils a new
support deal to deliver greater availability of the Royal Navy’s
world class fighting ships, underling the Conservatives
commitment to our armed forces and our place in the world.
The Common Support Model (CSM) will help maintain world class
Armed Forces by providing comprehensive support across the entire
Royal Navy fleet for decades to come in one new overarching
arrangement.
This new approach will increase the availability of our world
class warships and enable Global Britain to project power around
the world. It will provide the security on which the opportunity
to build a country that works for everyone depends.
The contract will help maintain the likes of both brand new Queen
Elizabeth aircraft carriers, as well as all existing warships and
will be able to incorporate future ships such as the Type 26 and
Type 31 frigate.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference, Defence
Secretary Sir said:
“This new deal will support the Royal Navy as we prepare
to welcome two huge new aircraft carriers, two new classes of
frigates and new support ships. We are growing the Royal Navy and
ensuring that our warships will spend more time out at sea
defending Britain’s interests.
“As threats intensify, only under the Conservatives will
Britain be a global leader in defence and by investing in our
armed forces through our rising defence budget we are helping
keeping people safe at home while working with allies
abroad."
The new arrangement will bring together separate support
agreements for individual ship types under a single, more
efficient and more manageable model. Worth around £1 billion, the
suite of contracts will support over a thousand jobs in the UK,
including at BAE Systems and Babcock in Portsmouth, Bristol,
Devonport and on the Clyde, as well as Thales in Crawley and AGI
Ltd in Poole.
ENDS
Notes to Editors
The first ten contracts to be signed under the Common Support
Model are:
- Four contracts worth £320 million for Marine Systems Support
Partner (MSSP) with Babcock, which will pay for spares, repairs
and technical services for the Royal Navy’s Type 45 Destroyers
and the new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.
- A £200 million contract for the Joint Support Solution 2 with
BAE Systems to support combat management systems, tactical
networks and shared infrastructures aboard 38 Royal Navy
platforms including Type 23 Frigates, Type 45 Destroyers, QEC
Carriers, Landing Platform/Dock (LPD) and Landing Platform
Helicopter (LPH) ships and Mine Counter Measure Vehicles, among
others.
- Two contracts worth £150 million for amendments to the
Maritime Support Delivery Framework (MSDF) with BAE Systems and
Babcock to ensure the continuing support of the Royal Navy’s
entire surface Fleet, including the two new QEC Carriers.
- A £100 million contract for internal and external
communications systems support with Thales for fleet-wide
communications support, including long-term support for the QEC
Carriers and Type 45 Destroyers.
- A £12 million contract with AGI Ltd to support Visual Landing
Aids for aircraft on board ships including the QEC Carriers, Type
45 Destroyers, and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary’s Tide Class
Tankers.
- A £12 million contract for ships’ protective systems with
Babcock for the current Royal Navy surface Fleet including QEC
carriers, and submarines.
