RNS Number : 2260Y
Babcock International Group PLC
03 July 2008
3 July 2008
Babcock International Group PLC
Babcock welcomes the signing of the manufacturing contracts for the Aircraft Carrier
programme
Commenting on today's announcement by the Ministry of Defence (``MoD'') that the
manufacturing contract for the Future Aircraft Carrier
(``CVF'') programme has been signed, Babcock welcomes the Government's commitment to deliver
to the Royal Navy the largest and most capable
warships ever built in the United Kingdom.
On 25 July 2007, the Secretary of State for Defence confirmed that the MoD would place an
order for two aircraft carriers for the Royal
Navy - HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales. Since then, as a key member of the
Aircraft Carrier Alliance, Babcock has continued to
play a significant role in the design of the two ships and has now begun major infrastructure
work at its Rosyth dockyard in Scotland, to
prepare the site for the assembly of both ships.
The contracts signed today will be worth some £675 million to Babcock through the
duration of the programme until 2016. In addition to
the design work currently being carried out, Babcock will be responsible for the construction
of the bow sections of the ships, their final
assembly and completion at Rosyth.
Peter Rogers, chief executive, said: ``We are delighted by this latest announcement which
clearly marks the beginning of the
manufacturing phase of this landmark programme. We look forward to participating with all our
partners in what will be one of the most
exciting British defence projects for many years.''
- ends -
Babcock International Group PLC
Peter Rogers, Chief Executive 020 7291 5000
Bill Tame, Finance Director
Terri Wright, Investor Relations
Financial Dynamics
Andrew Lorenz / Sophie Kernon 020 7269 7121
Notes to Editors
* The aircraft carriers will be delivered by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which
comprises industry participants and MoD. The
Industrial Participants will be: BVT Surface Fleet, Thales UK, Babcock and BAES (Submarine
Solutions and Insyte). The MoD's Defence
Equipment & Support (DE&S) is responsible for managing the procurement of the aircraft
carriers. The MoD is part of the Alliance as both
client and participant.
* In line with recommendations made in the Government's 1998 Strategic Defence Review,
CVF will replace the Royal Navy's current
three Invincible class aircraft carriers with two larger, more capable vessels. The CVF or
Queen Elizabeth class of carriers will be the
largest capital ships ever constructed in the UK or operated by the Royal Navy and the most
powerful carrier force outside the USA.
* CVF should provide Babcock with a total of 9 million man hours of work: 7 million at
Rosyth, 1 million at Appledore in Devon
(where steel units for each ship's bow section will be constructed) plus another million in
engineering.
* Total carrier-related employment levels at Rosyth itself (including Alliance partner
companies, commissioning staff and other sub
contractors) will peak at about 2,000.
* In February, a £35 million civil engineering contact was awarded by the Alliance to
Edmund Nuttall to begin work on modifying the
Rosyth docks to accommodate the CVF assembly. Further investment will follow, including the
installation of a Goliath crane to move ship
modules into position.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
CNTRJMPTMMAMMJP
|