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.
Also in Scotland, at
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