MOD GETS £2.5BILLION SATELLITE COMMUNICATIONS SYSTEM

24 Oct 2003 12:15 PM

Defence Procurement Minister, Lord Bach, today approved a £2.5 billion agreement to provide Britain's Armed Forces with a new, state of the art, strategic satellite communications system Skynet 5.

The British-based Paradigm consortium has been awarded a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) contract for the satellite programme, which is expected to create or sustain about 1,900 jobs across the UK. It is the biggest PFI contract yet awarded by the MOD.

Lord Bach said:

"Our existing satellite communications systems proved invaluable during Operation Telic. Skynet 5 will be a great improvement, and is an excellent example both of how MOD benefits from PFI and of the importance we attach to investment in the most advanced
communications for our forces in the field.

"Satellite communications are crucially important on the battlefield; they give our troops, their commanders and UK headquarters access to information across robust links.

"The use of PFI means Armed Forces personnel are freed from the requirement to operate and maintain these systems - Paradigm will do that job for us. This project remains on target to achieve initial provision of new services from 2005, is within budget and promises to deliver exactly the kind of flexibility and responsiveness the Armed Forces want."

Management of all existing MOD satellite communications systems has already been successfully handed to Paradigm.

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. Skynet 5 will provide satellite communications (Satcom) services to the Army, RAF and Royal Navy to meet expected high capacity strategic communications traffic growth from 2005 to 2018. The project provides delivery of information services between the UK's Defence Fixed Network and in-theatre networks and users.

2. Skynet 5 will use at least two new military satellites. Each will be about the size of a large van and will weigh 2.5-3 tonnes. These satellites will take over orbital locations currently used by the Skynet 4 constellation, as it reaches the end of its useful life.

3. Paradigm projects total employment of about 1,900 staff at the following UK locations in the peak year of 2004: Stevenage, Herts (Paradigm & EADS Astrium) 442; Portsmouth, Hants (EADS Astrium & Paradigm) 382; Corsham, Wilts (Paradigm & Serco) 277; Poynton, Cheshire (EADS Astrium) 80; Leatherhead, Surrey (LogicaCMG) 100; Newport, South Wales (Cogent) 120; Monkstown, Northern Ireland (Cogent)16 and other UK locations 517.

4. The project is being managed by the SATCOM Acquisition Team, based at the Defence Procurement Agency headquarters at Abbey Wood, Bristol. The team is led by Simon Kershaw. The team additionally forms part of the Defence Communications Services Agency.

5. The MOD's website can be found at www.mod.uk