Babcock has cut steel for the first of the RN's five Inspiration-class Type 31 frigates, the future HMS Venturer.
UK Defence Secretary and shipbuilding tsar Ben Wallace witnessed the steel cutting at Babcock's new manufacturing facility in Rosyth, Scotland.
During the event, Babcock also named its new assembly hall 'The Venturer Building' in homage to the new class of ships being built at the facility.
Babcock CEO David Lockwood said the steel cutting was a significant moment, adding it showed that the UK's National Shipbuilding Strategy could achieve.
Lockwood added: 'The T31 Class will show the adaptability and