MOD AWARDS CREW TRAINING CONTRACT FOR LATEST ATTACK SUBMARINES

13 Sep 2001 12:00 AM

The Ministry of Defence today awarded the British-led FAST consortium a 30-year contract worth about #300 million to train crewmen for the Royal Navy''s latest Astute class attack submarines.

FAST will construct a new training centre at the Faslane submarine base in Scotland, which will be the home-port for the entire class. The centre will have advanced training equipment and simulators operated by highly-trained instructors.

Defence Procurement Minister Lord Bach said: ''The Astute Class Training Service is the biggest of its type in the Royal Navy and mirrors the progress we have made in using contractors to secure the best and most cost-effective training for RAF aircrew and Army armoured vehicles.

''This new centre will turn out fully-trained crews, ready to take the Astute class boats into operational service from 2005 onwards. The contract will sustain about 140 UK jobs during the construction phase, nearly half of which will be in Scotland, and create about 20 new jobs at Faslane when it is in operation.

''Construction of these important attack submarines, our largest and most powerful to date, is continuing to make good progress. The first boat, HMS Astute, is being assembled and steel is being cut for the second of class, HMS Ambush. The MOD is also negotiating a contract for studies into the projected buy of up to three further boats of the class.''

NOTES TO EDITORS

1. The MOD contract has been awarded under the Private Finance Initiative. The FAST consortium is composed of AMS (a joint venture company owned by BAE Systems and Finmeccanica Spa of Italy), CAE Inc of Canada and Flagship (a joint venture company owned by BAE Systems, Vosper Thornycroft and Johnson Controls of the US). During the construction phase ACTS is expected to sustain 10 jobs at Donnibristle in Scotland and 15 at Farlington, Portsmouth at AMS sites; 15 jobs at CAE sites at Barrow-in-Furness and Portsmouth and 12 at a Flagship site at Portsmouth; 10 at Stachan and Henshaw at Bristol; 30 more across the UK and 50 during construction of the building at Faslane. A further 20 jobs will be created at a CAE site in Canada.

2. Should further Astute class boats be ordered, the ACTS contract could be extended to run for 40 years. A #10 million study contract into the projected buy of up to three further boats of the type will be placed with BAE Systems Astute Class Ltd, the prime contractor for the class.

3. HMS Astute will displace 7,200 tonnes dived and is 97 metres long. She will have six weapons tubes and massively increased firepower compared with earlier attack submarines. She is powered by a Pressurised Water Reactor 2, equipped with Core H, which will fuel the reactor for the submarine''s full service life, ending the need for costly reactor refuellings. The cost of each of the first three boats is about #745 million.

4. HMS Astute and her sisters are being procured by the Defence Procurement Agency Attack Submarine Integrated Project Team, which is led by Roger Russell. The Prime Contractor project office is based at Frimley in Surrey. The Managing Director is Nigel Whitehead.