General Dynamics contracts Babcock for Successor submarine missile tube work

UK’s Babcock International Group announced Thursday that it has been awarded a contract from General Dynamics Electric Boat to support the manufacturing of 22 tactical missile tube assemblies for the UK Successor and US Ohio-class replacement submarine programmes.

The work is part of the second phase of the common missile compartment (CMC) project which is a critical component of the two nations’ nuclear submarines.

Earlier this month, the U.S. Navy has awarded Electric Boat a not-to-exceed $101,295,930 contract modification for the manufacturing of 22 tactical missile tubes in support of the Ohio-class replacement.

Beginning towards the end of 2016 and expected to complete in the early 2020s, with further opportunities expected from future batches, the work will be carried out at Babcock’s facilities at Rosyth and Bristol, sustaining around 150 positions created in the first phase.

According to Babcock, the contract for this batch of CMC components is expected to be worth around £80 million.

Babcock Chief Executive Archie Bethel said: “Supporting Electric Boat with the CMC project for the future submarines also underpins our wider involvement in the UK Successor programme where we have already secured the supply of other critical equipment and are also heavily involved in the design phase with a focus on the overall through life performance and operational cost of the future platforms.”

UK Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin said: “I am delighted that Babcock have secured this critically important project. This contract is a strong endorsement of our highly skilled and globally competitive defence industry and will secure around 150 jobs in Rosyth. With Faslane set to be home of all the Royal Navy’s submarines by 2020, this is further evidence of the benefits that defence brings to the economy and to Scotland.”

Great Britain has already started construction works on the first Successor submarine while the Ohio replacement submarines, which will be named Columbia as it was recently revealed, are expected to be built from 2021 onward.