The UK Ministry of Defence has awarded a new £1.8 billion, 15-year contract with Thales to improve Royal Navy’s ship availability and resilience.
As explained, the new contract is in response to the increasing need for Royal Navy platforms to be on active duty for longer periods because of increasing global instability.
The contract, Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team (MSET), will sharpen the focus on equipment availability, predicting problems – through AI innovations and data management – rather than reacting when they emerge.
During the life of the MSET contract, the Royal Navy will undergo a significant transition including the introduction of the new Type 26, and Type 31 frigates, and Dreadnought platforms, as well as autonomous systems.
MSET, a scalable service model, will provide greater stability and breadth in the level of support delivered to the Royal Navy during this complex transition period. By investing in new facilities, AI, data analysis tools, and skills, the company will deliver greater resilience for the RN platforms.
Over the life of the contract, it will deliver an average reduction in turnaround times of 100 days per repair, spare lead times will be reduced by an average of 44 days, and reliability will improve by 10%.
Data-driven decision-making will enable MSET to see beyond the current support horizons and with the increased investment in emerging technologies, including AI, virtual reality, and big data, create a more proactive and predictive maintenance regime.
Investments will include improving facilities at HMNB Devonport, Faslane, Portsmouth, and Bahrain to deliver an advanced test and repair capability, allowing specialist technical and engineering skills at the waterfront to provide direct support to the RN.
“Thales is delighted to strengthen our century long partnership with the Royal Navy, and support its vital role in defending the UK and keeping the worlds critical sea lanes open ,” Alex Cresswell , Chairman and CEO of Thales in the UK, stated.
“ This £1.8 Billion contract with Thales will help keep more Royal Navy ships at sea for longer, by harnessing the latest developments in artificial intelligence, data analysis and improved dockland facilities. Data Driven decision making enables MSET to go beyond the current support horizons and make a substantial improvement in the availability and resilience of the Royal Navy whilst preparing for AUKUS, the landmark security and defence partnership between Australia, US and UK. “