LONDON (Thomson Financial) - British defence group BAE Systems Plc. and UK
shipbuilder VT Group Plc. confirmed Monday that their joint venture to build the
Royal Navy's two new aircraft carriers will become operational on Tuesday.
The joint venture, called BVT Surface Fleet (BVT), will employ over 7,000
people at facilities in Glasgow, Bristol and Portsmouth.
Sir John Parker has been appointed non-executive chairman and Alan Johnston
chief executive of BVT, the companies said in a joint statement.
Government indecision over which projects to include in its latest defence
budget settlement delayed the signing of the deal, which will result in the
combination of most of the two companies' shipbuilding activities.
There had been fears that funding for the carriers would be cut, although
industry sources say other defence projects are now more likely to be hit.
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