Design for the new Submarines

[robpage]

The Government has awarded contracts worth £350 million to UK companies to design the next generation of nuclear submarines.
Most of the work on the Trident system will go to BAE Systems, which said it will sustain the jobs of 1,000 workers at its site in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
The first Successor submarine is due to be delivered in 2028, replacing the Vanguard Class vessels which currently carry Trident. A decision on the final design and build will not be made until 2016, but the Ministry of Defence said detailed work has to take place now.
Defence Secretary Philip Hammond said: "This Government is committed to maintaining a continuous submarine-based nuclear deterrent. The contracts announced today with BAE Systems, Babcock and Rolls-Royce symbolise an important step towards renewing our nation's nuclear deterrent into the 2060s.
"We have a world-class submarine-building industry in this country and this programme will help to sustain or create more than 1,900 jobs across the UK. By making the core equipment programme fully funded and affordable, we are able to confirm additional equipment projects which help safeguard our national security."
BAE Systems managing director John Hudson said: "The signing of this contract is a key step forward in our business strategy to deliver a seven-boat Astute programme followed by the replacement class for the Vanguard submarines.
"Not only does it help sustain the jobs of over 1,000 skilled employees currently working on the programme, it also provides the opportunity to grow our workforce by a further 280 in 2012."

OK a thousand people too design a Submarine at a cost of £350,000,000 just for the design and sixteen years to design and build it , I wonder how much shipowners pay to have a new ship designed from scratch , My worry is that the defence industry , whilst being good sources of employment , seem to be in cloud cuckoo land when it comes to costs

[John Pruden]

ROB the only thing on the down side is the budget? like all defence contracts how many come in on budget? all praise to the british companies that build the equipment but how many times will the goal posts be moved whilst building goes ahead jamming the cost by at least a half again then the complaints start.JP

[Captain Kong]

I guess we are lucky that Germany is not building them for us. It is keeping people and skills employed which would be lost for ever if it went for tender into europe,
Cheers
Brian.

[John Arton]

If the M.O.D. are going to build our submarines here in the U.K. how come the contract for the new RFA ships went to Korea. Know the RFA is a civilian force but surely the M.O.D must have had some input into design and choice of where the ships are to be built.
The contract cost seems an obscene amount given that not one piece of steel has been cut, just designed and just watch the costs escalate as the M.O.D. has to be the most inefficeint of all our State Departments and thats saying something looking at the inefficeincy and wastage in all the other State departments.
rgds
Capt. John Arton (ret'd)

[robpage]

I think whoever changes the specification should be held to task as to why it was not included in the first specification , maybe there are too many cooks spoiling an unlimited budget of a broth !!! . I just get the feeling that defence budgets are too much of never mind the quality feel the employment in my constituancy .

[Ivan Cloherty]

I think whoever changes the specification should be held to task as to why it was not included in the first specification , maybe there are too many cooks spoiling an unlimited budget of a broth !!! . I just get the feeling that defence budgets are too much of never mind the quality feel the employment in my constituancy .

Rob

Costs are high because the whole tender process is so slow, firms tender and have to charge for the technical expertise they bring to these quotes, a lot of expensive, highly intelligent people work on these estimates, they need paying, there are very onerous rules in place to stop every Tom, Dick or Harry submitting useless quotes just to get funds.

These projects are expensive because the firms who supply the goods or services know that they have to self finance their services because they are not going to receive their monies due for at least 12 to 18 months after submission of invoices. If the various Government departments outside the MOD got their act together and got funds to the MOD on time then inummerable projects would be a lot cheaper, but as leapords do not change their spots the contractors WILL HAVE TO keep charging top dollar

Firms tendering for any Govt/MOD contracts know that their money is usually secure but they are going to have to borrow expensive money to finance the project until they get paid. So the Govt (you and me) are in fact financing the Banks that lend the money to the contractors.

Having been an approved supplier I speak from experience, removed my company from the list because of the high cost of finance.

[happy daze john in oz]

Ship building is all over the place these days. Here in Oz we are having a nimber fo RN ships built in Spain, but only to 'lock up' stage. They will then be brought here to be fitted out. Gov says it is the cheapest way to do it?????

[robpage]

I still don't get the engineering or economic logic of building the new aircraft carriers in three yards . The transportation alone is £85,000,000 , the ventilation is IMtech who are Dutch . I thought the decision might be political , but Portsmouth and Rosyth are represented at the time of the contract by Lib Dems . SO are we looking at only one dockyard with teh capability to assemble these ships , itf that is the case then we are in a sorrier state than I thought .

[happy daze john in oz]

You well maybe, saw an article on the net yesterday by your bank of England cheif. He said base rates for interest will remain where they are until 2017. But hollidays to Greece are all the go with some so cheap they beat prices of 15 years ago.