Work starts on ‘super-quiet’ gearboxes for UK’s Type 26 frigate

David Brown Santasalo, a 150 years old gearbox manufacturer, has started work on gearboxes for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates at its newly opened facility in Huddersfield.

UK Defence Secretary Michael Fallon attended the opening ceremony of the facility on December 9.

The establishment of the company’s ‘Marine Gearing Assembly & Test Facility’ was initiated with the sole purpose of building the ship’s gears.

Back in August 2015, BAE Systems confirmed that David Brown (now David Brown Santasalo) was awarded a demonstration and manufacturing contract to supply main reduction gearboxes for the first three ships of the new class.

The contract followed an earlier one for design and development of the main transmission for the Type 26. According to the company, gearboxes for the first three ships will be delivered fully tested to BAE Systems in Glasgow in 2017, 2018 and 2019.

“Defence spending benefits every part of our country. As well as being home to key military units, Yorkshire is home to some of our great defence supply chain businesses, with hundreds of millions of pounds worth of contracts supporting over 600 local firms and thousands of jobs,” Michael Fallon said. “The UK’s rising defence budget secures vital projects that help keep Britain both safe and prosperous.”