BAE Systems awards 15 Type 26 manufacturing contracts to suppliers
BAE Systems has awarded a further 15 manufacturing contracts to suppliers of the Type 26 programme, which entered the manufacturing phase in July, increasing the number of UK maritime jobs supported by the programme to over 4,500.
In total 44 companies are now working directly with BAE Systems to deliver the Type 26 ships and the recent contract awards, worth more than £40m, include diesel and gearbox filtration, vibration monitoring equipment, and pipework and fittings.
One of the largest contracts awarded was to Goodwins Steel Casting where the shaft brackets supplied by the Staffordshire company will help support more than 380 jobs. Goodwins Managing Director, Steven Birks said:
“We are delighted to have been selected to supply the critical duty steel castings for the Royal Navy’s first three City Class Type 26 Global Combat Ships. By engaging early with BAE Systems our engineering teams have developed castings that will exceed the stringent technical requirements set out in the tender, and will be manufactured from our advanced facilities here in Stoke-on-Trent.”
The Type 26 Global Combat Ship will be a globally deployable, multi-mission warship capable of undertaking a wide range of roles from high intensity warfare to humanitarian assistance. The ship will take full advantage of modular design and open systems architecture, ensuring it can be easily upgraded as new technology develops and can accommodate different sub-systems and equipment suited to potential overseas customer needs.
The 15 companies awarded contracts are as follows:
Nadia Savage, BAE Systems, Programme Director for Type 26 Global Combat Ship, said: “Working together with the very best talent in the UK and overseas to deliver the most advanced warship of its type is extremely exciting. With manufacturing underway for GLASGOW, the first of the three City Class Type 26 frigates, we are working at pace with our suppliers to deliver these hugely capable ships to the Royal Navy. Today’s announcement demonstrates once again that the construction of these ships is now very much underway.”