Royal Navy OPV construction underway

Construction on the Royal Navy’s (RN’s) new Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) has begun at BAE Systems in Glasgow, with first steel cut on 10 October.

BAE Systems signed the £348 million contract to build three 90m OPVs for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) in August.

The programme will plug a gap that would otherwise see the MoD spend around £230 million/year in guaranteed shipbuilding and support to sustain capabilities between the end of the Queen Elizabeth Aircraft Carriers and the beginning of Type 26 construction.

Although the RN will gain three new OPVs from the programme from 2017 onwards, the River Class vessels that they are expected to replace will be less than 20 years old at that point, raising questions about whether the programme offers the best value for money for the MoD.

The OPV is based on a BAE Systems design which is already in service with the Brazilian Navy and Royal Thai Navy.

The vessels will include a modified flight deck capable of operating upgraded Merlin helicopters, larger stores and more accommodation for embarked troops. They will also be the first ships to be built with a BAE Systems-designed operating system called Shared Infrastructure, which will be rolled out across the navy’s surface fleet over the next 10 years.

The first of class will be named Forth and is expected to be delivered to the navy in 2017. The second will be named Medway and the third Trent.

Mick Ord, managing director, BAE Systems Naval Ships, said: ‘This is a significant day for our business and the UK shipbuilding industry, as we begin construction on a new class of warship for the RN.

‘We’re making investments in our operations at Glasgow to reinforce our position as a world class UK naval engineering business and the OPV programme provides an opportunity to truly embed our new ways of working and new technologies, helping to pave the way for our future and ensure that we can compete with the world’s best shipbuilders.’