UK selects Harland & Wolff, Navantia and BMT team for support ships
An artist's impression of the future Fleet Solid Support Ship that will keep RN surface combatants stocked with supplies while at sea. (Photo: Team Resolute)
New ships will take shape in Belfast once again following a decision by the UK MoD to choose Team Resolute to build the Royal Fleet Auxiliary's (RFA's) Fleet Solid Support ships.
The UK MoD has chosen Team Resolute – comprising Harland & Wolff, Navantia and BMT – as its preferred bidder for a £1.6 billion ($1.9 billion) project to build three new Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships.
The decision represents a long-awaited conclusion to a programme vital for future UK Carrier Strike Group operations.
Navantia UK, a subsidiary of the Spanish shipbuilder, is prime contractor for the programme that will see finished ships assembled at Harland & Wolff’s Belfast shipyard. The decision is a boon for Harland & Wolff, which only this year won its first defence contract to refurbish an
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
More from Naval Warfare
-
![US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes]()
US Navy may look to foreign suppliers to accelerate shipbuilding programmes
The US Navy (USN) is currently reassessing its acquisition efforts and seeking ways to reduce the multiple delays across the shipbuilding initiatives.
-
![Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule]()
Australia commissions HMAS Arafura three-and-a-half years behind schedule
The Royal Australian Navy has finally commissioned the first Arafura-class offshore patrol vessel – more than three years behind schedule – highlighting the programme’s delays, design compromises and ongoing industrial restructuring.
-
![Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates]()
Italy orders two ships as work begins on others along with deliveries and updates
The Italian Navy is being refreshed with two new ships ordered, while in the past six months steel was cut for a new frigate, an enhanced frigate was delivered and Horizon-class frigates passed a design review.
