The Minister revealed that teams led by BAE Systems,
Babcock and Atlas Elektronik UK have been shortlisted
for the competition to build the five frigates for
£1.25 billion. Each group has today been awarded a
contract worth up to £5 million to fund the next stage
of their plans, with the preferred bidder for the
design and manufacture of the ships due to announced by
the end of next year. The MOD want the first ship
delivered in 2023.
Speaking at Her Majesty’s Naval Base in Portsmouth,
Defence Minister said:
This is the first frigate competition the UK has run
in a generation, and today we are funding three
shipbuilding teams with extremely exciting concepts
to continue developing their plans. Next year we will
announce the winning bidder, and one of these designs
will go on to bolster our future fleet with five new
ships, creating UK jobs and ensuring our Royal Navy
maintains a truly global presence in an increasingly
uncertain world.
The awarding of the contracts is a key milestone in the
National Shipbuilding Strategy, which was launched in
September 2017. The Strategy met the challenges set by
an independent report written by Sir John Parker, a
figure with a wealth of leadership and boardroom
experience in shipbuilding, and was underpinned by the
commitment to build the new Type 31e ships.
The bold Type 31e programme will move through
procurement at an unprecedented pace: the vessel will
commence production within 3 years of the launch of the
programme, far quicker than similar programmes of this
type.
The ships will make up the next generation of the Royal
Navy fleet, along with eight Type 26 warships which
will start being delivered from the mid-2020s. The
names of all eight Type 26 frigates have now been
announced, and the Defence Secretary has also
outlined that they will be homed in Devonport. The
decision on where the Type 31e frigates will be based
is still to be made.
The Minister made the announcement on-board HMS
Diamond, which returned to Portsmouth last month having
been in the Mediterranean.
