BAE Systems awarded £10m

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded BAE Systems a £10m contract for technical support on the first three Astute class submarines in service.

The contract includes an incentive to reduce the cost of ownership by sharing savings resulting from more effective management of the support programme.

The contract, which runs until December 2012, will see the business working in partnership with the MoD to extend its “design authority” role from submarine design and build into service. It incorporates the principles of “through life capability management” set out in the UK Defence Industrial Strategy.

Head of support at BAE Systems Submarine Solutions in Barrow, Nick Marshall said: “The order represents a significant extension in the scope of the Submarine Solutions business from submarine design and build towards through-life capability. It is complemented by proposals recently submitted to the MoD for systems and equipment support for parts of the Astute Submarine Combat System and Platform Management System, both aimed at reducing through life costs.”