Ministry of Defence - 09 Nov 2009 16:18
£55M Boost for Shipbuilding on the Tyne
News Release issued by the COI News Distribution Service on 09 November 2009
Tyneside shipbuilders A&P are celebrating the return of Naval shipbuilding to the North East today with the award of a £55M contract to construct a section of the Royal Navy’s giant new aircraft carriers.
The massive construction project, which will provide around five years’ work for A&P and support the 210-strong workforce, will see A&P construct a 1,000 tonne section that will form part of the first of the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers. At 65,000 tonnes, these will be the largest warships ever constructed in the UK.
Minister for Defence Equipment and Support Quentin Davies said:
“Companies right across the UK are involved in delivering this project which represents a step change in defence’s capability, enabling Britain to deliver airpower from the sea wherever and whenever it is required. The excellent progress being made by A&P here on the Tyne is evidence of the absolute commitment to delivering this vital capability.”
Head of Capital Ships at the MOD Tony Graham said:
“This is an historic day for shipbuilding in the North East, marking its involvement in the biggest shipbuilding programme the Navy has seen. It is fantastic that the young apprentices who have been taken on by A&P are learning their trade on these Carriers, which will be the cornerstone of the future Navy.
“The Aircraft Carrier Alliance has been impressed by the commitment of A&P management to upgrading their facilities and providing confidence in their ability to meet important delivery milestones. We know and trust that A&P management and workforce will deliver their promises.”
Investment has been made in new equipment including a state-of-the art plasma cutter and new panel line at the Hebburn site which will equip A&P Tyne with the facilities to deliver their parts of the aircraft carriers.
The aircraft carriers are being constructed in sections at locations around the country and will be shipped to Rosyth in Scotland where they will be fitted together. Contracts for the equipment that will furnish the ships worth over £1Bn to date have also been placed around the UK.
Aircraft Carrier Alliance Programme Director Geoff Searle said:
“This is a fantastic day for A&P Tyne and the Aircraft Carrier Alliance. These carriers will be this country’s future flagships so our primary focus and that of our contractors is ensuring we deliver the best vessels possible to the Royal Navy.
“The commitment of the Tyneside workforce to building these ships for the UK Armed Forces is very evident and I am delighted that A&P Tyne is now officially on contract and has started to make great progress on the first ship.”
A&P Group Managing Director David Skentelbery said:
“Our Hebburn workforce has a proud tradition of delivering a first rate job and I have no doubt that they will continue to do so on this hugely prestigious project.
“At A&P Tyne, we are set to deliver a substantial part of these ships and I am delighted that we can represent the North East on the project.”
Notes to editors
Prime contractors BAE Systems Surface Ships have recruited 78 new apprentices on the Clyde and 42 in Portsmouth in 2009, taking the total number of apprentices in the business to 504. In Rosyth, Babcock recruited a further 52 apprentices in 2009, which boosted the company’s total number of apprentices to 157.
The innovative Aircraft Carrier Alliance is a single integrated team formed from, BAE Systems, Thales UK and the MOD (which acts as both partner and client.) It is responsible for delivering the Queen Elizabeth Class ships to time and cost. Alliancing allows for the collaborative delivery of the aircraft carriers by bringing together all interested parties with a vested financial interest to make decisions to achieve what is best for the project, as well as providing the most effective way of managing risk and reward.
Contacts:
Ministry of Defence
NDS.MOD@coi.gsi.gov.uk
http://www.wired-gov.net/wg/wg-news-1.nsf/0/A956ADD942AB2C4B802576690065A318?OpenDocument
Have to admit a lot of the technical stuff is going straight over my head, but i'm glad to see that these two ships are still being built, despite the current situation.
I only really have one question. What's going to happen to the two carriers in service atm? Will they still be in service by the time the two QE class ships are built/already be de-commissioned/replaced by the two QE ships?
They will be decommissioned as the new carriers enter service. To quoteOriginally Posted by SDL
http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/...ble#g296356.r0On current plans, the Out of Service Dates (OSDs) are: HMS Invincible 2010, HMS Ark Royal in 2014 and HMS Illustrious 2016. Our ship programmes are kept under continuous review to ensure that the In-Service Dates for the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class carriers remain coherent with the OSDs for the Invincible Class
Ah...... gotcha, Thanks
There's a campaign for HMS Invincible to become a floating museum, which would be fantastic considering her illustious career, and having seen action everywhere from the Falklands to Iraq.
More than likely the other two will be turned into razor blades, and I suspect Invincible will go the same way. The ships are just too old now. We used to sell off our old boats to countries such as India, some SoAm countries, but those countries now either have indigenous programmes or could get a better deal elsewhere.
A museum would be a brilliant idea... i'd go.
Didn't see this in any of the previous posts so: Why are there two separate islands? I can see that in-between the two is a elevator, but I would have thought it superior to have a single structure and to relocate the elevator. Just in terms of airflow alone, the two structures must cause some issues. Happy for anyone to set me straight on this.
The design features two small island structures, one devoted to ship navigation, and the other to air operations. This allows optimal placement of bridges for both tasks: navigation calls for a bridge placed forward, while air operations are made easier with a bridge placed abaft.
OK, that sort of makes sense. It does strike me that it takes up much more surface area of the flight deck than (say) the island of the Nimitz class.
http://www.royalnavy.mod.uk/operatio...al-navys-world
Its also alot to do with the sheer amount of kit and antenna space needed.
That's actually answered on the first couple of pages of this thread. You may be approaching this from an aeronautical perspective, where drag-effect is everything. Not so in naval architecture. The effect of having two islands of modern, angled construction on the airflow is negligible. This is a 65 000 tonne colossus travelling at a cruise speed of ~15kt and a sprint of ~30.
Your second mistake (a common one) is to look to the Nimitz as an example of how a carrier 'should' be, when it is only an example of how a carrier can be. The twin island concept has been aroound for many decades, this is the first time it's to be used in a major warship. As has been said dozens of times on this thread, the forward island is optimised for nav and the aft for aviation. There is more than enough space for a full airwing. I've said previously that the design gives significantly more space per airframe than for instance a Nimitz. It's no longer necessary to just cram in aircraft willy-nilly, becuase the technology of the aircraft themselves is so much superior.
It definitely was the right choice, and I've little doubt that it is yet another trend that other navies will follow the RN in.
We can add it to the list of angled-decks, steam-catapults, VTOL, ski-jumps, commando-carriers/LPHs, armoured flight-decks, jet powered naval air, optical landing systems, as well as the aircraft carrier and naval aviation itself.
Two islands is simply a footnote to a minor chapter.
Yes I was approaching it from an aeronautical perspective, not in terms of it slowing down the ship, but rather in terms of it affecting the landing of aircraft. A double disruption of the airflow over the deck surely can only make things more "interesting" for the approaching aircraft.
Deck space is one of those interesting things isn't it. Looking at it from a WW2/cold war perspective, there was no such thing as too much deck space. However, if it gives enough space for the proposed airwing to operate, then yes it is just fine. I do recollect how Harriers were jam packed onto the Hermes and Invincible temporarily for the Falklands, and I have no doubt that in similar circumstances, the same could be done with the QE2 class.
MoD may sell aircraft carrier to India to limit cuts
MoD may sell aircraft carrier to India to limit cuts
Sale would leave Royal Navy with just one replacement
- Tim Webb
- The Observer, Sunday 15 November 2009
- Article history
One of Britain's new £2bn aircraft carriers could be sold off under cost-cutting plans being considered by the Ministry of Defence. India has lodged a firm expression of interest, the Observer has learned.
The sale of one of the two 65,000-tonne vessels would leave the Royal Navy with a single carrier and could force Britain to borrow from the French fleet, which itself has only one carrier and is reluctant to build more. Last summer the French president, Nicolas Sarkozy, proposed to Gordon Brown that the two navies co-ordinate maintenance and refitting so that one was at sea at all times.
According to senior defence sources, Whitehall officials are examining the feasibility of a sale as part of the strategic defence review that will start early next year and is expected to result in savage cuts.
The carrier programme has already been delayed by two years to push back spending commitments, which itself will end up costing the taxpayer more in the long run. BAE Systems began work in July on HMS Queen Elizabeth, which is due to come into service in 2016. Preparatory work on the Prince of Wales, due for launch in 2018, has also started. The two carriers will replace the ageing Invincible class and are three times the size.
There were fears that the government could scrap one altogether. But it is understood that the financial penalties would be prohibitive. About 10,000 jobs in Portsmouth, Barrow-in-Furness, Fife and Glasgow depend on the orders.
How true is that? What are the possibilities of this happening if India does come up with the cash? What about the latest technologies?
Key milestone for Queen Elizabeth class waste management system
Monday, Nov 30, 2009
The first major component of the Integrated Waste Management System (IWMS) from Babcock for the new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers – the Waste Water Treatment Plant – has been delivered ready for installation in the first carrier, marking an important milestone.
Designed by Babcock under contract to the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, the IWMS addresses the collection, transfer, treatment, stowage and disembarkation of the various fluid and solid waste streams generated onboard the carriers.
The Waste Water Treatment Plant (WWTP) is a key component of the system, and will process the black (sewage) and grey water (from showers, sinks, galleys and laundries) generated onboard, and discharge permeate compliant with MARPOL 73/78, Annex IV (the international standard for control of marine pollution). The plant comprises a membrane bioreactor (including cross-flow, aeration, feed and bleed systems) and black water collection system, and each carrier will have three identical, autonomous WWTPs located forward, amidships and aft.
Black water from the heads and medical centre will be vacuum transported to a black water vacuum transfer tank adjacent to each WWTP, while grey water will be predominantly gravity collected to the double bottom grey water tanks (with water from galleys and food processing passing through grease separators). Subsequent inter-block transfer of black or grey water is an autonomous process controlled by the Integrated Platform Management System. Bio-sludge generated by the membrane bioreactor units may be periodically pumped either to shore, overboard, or to the Solid Waste and Final Treatment System for drying and thermal destruction (pyrolysis) onboard. The dry solids content of the bio-sludge will be 2-3%.
Factory acceptance testing of the WWTP was successfully completed at Babcock’s Bristol premises last month, prior to despatch.
To facilitate ship installation, Babcock has grouped and mounted the WWTP equipment and all ancillary items, with interconnecting pipework and cabling, on purpose-manufactured rafts for optimum efficiency, reducing the resources required at the build yards.
Babcock project manager Paul Moxham commented: “Delivery of the WWTP (the first major component of the system), is a key milestone in delivering the first coherent integrated waste management system on a warship, designed to meet current and projected future environmental standards.”
David Goodfellow, Aircraft Carrier Alliance Ship Build Director, said: “The WWTP is a vital component of both ships, and its delivery signals the achievement of an important milestone in the programme. Build progress on the Queen Elizabeth Class continues to progress at a pace across the whole programme, but it is great to see real tangible delivery of items such as the WWTP.”
Babcock will be supplying all the IWMS equipment over the next 12 months. Installation at the shipyards will be undertaken with support from Babcock, who will also undertake commissioning of the system and harbour and service acceptance trials, for final acceptance on the ships by the Aircraft Carrier Alliance.
To think that these waste water collectors are state of the art - amazing the sheer level of technical excellence going into a some what overlooked, but important area of these massive vessels.
Cheers for the update Happy.
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