UK naval shipbuilding: The start of a journey or destined to fail?
The first Type 31 frigate, HMS Venturer, under construction in Babcock’s ‘frigate factory’ at Rosyth. (Photo: Babcock)
As the UK’s naval shipyards build capacity and capability to meet orders in the short-term, questions about their sustainability are dependent on a long-term order book.
Work has started on a new shipbuilding hall at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Govan, Scotland, which will allow the company to build two City-class Type 26 frigates simultaneously under cover. Measuring 170m-long and 80m-wide, BAE has stated the hall will be equipped with two 100-tonne cranes, two 20-tonne cranes and can host up to 500 workers per shift.
The construction of the hall is part of a £300 million (US$379.6 million) investment in BAE’s facilities at both Govan and Scotstoun that includes digitisation to streamline its processes and deliver the Type 26 frigates to the UK Royal Navy.
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