The Ministry of Defence has renewed a commitment to establish a sustainable demand for naval shipbuilding through a 30-year cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline encompassing over 150 new vessels.
This initiative, they say in response to a Scottish Affairs Committee report, is designed to offer a stable work environment for the industry while promoting investment in facilities, infrastructure, innovation, and skills.
The Scottish Affair Committee’s Fourth Report of Session 2022–23 is titled ‘Defence in Scotland: military shipbuilding’, you can read the report here.
The Ministry of Defence also say that Scotland holds a vital role in the future of defence shipbuilding, as it is where the Type 26 and Type 31 vessels are being constructed.
The recent Type 26 Batch 2 contract awarded to BAE Systems and the Type 31 vessels being built by Babcock in Rosyth, they say, “demonstrate the UK government’s commitment to fostering Scottish shipbuilding”, safeguarding thousands of jobs and generating new apprenticeships.
The pipeline will undergo updates at each multi-year Spending Review, guaranteeing transparency for the industry. Upcoming naval programmes, including the Type 83 destroyer and Type 32 Frigate, are expected to further contribute to the expansion and future of Scottish naval shipbuilding.
The following is the sections of the aforementioned report the Government replied to, followed by their reply.
The report states
“We wish to underline the importance to Scottish shipyards of maintaining a dependable ‘drumbeat’ of orders to allow them to invest and grow. The days of ‘feast and famine’ must not return. The creation of the National Shipbuilding Strategy suggests that the UK Government appreciates the importance of this point. However, there remains some uncertainty about the pipeline in the 2030s and 2040s, such as the basis on which the Type 45 destroyers will be replaced. The Scottish shipbuilding industry should not be given cause to doubt that it will have a consistent order book in the future, so long as it continues to deliver on its commitments to its Government customers. (Paragraph 51)
The UK Government should provide greater clarity about the work that will fill the whole of the 30-year shipbuilding pipeline into the 2030s and 2040s. It is of course difficult to calculate precise military needs beyond 2050. However, the UK Government should give Scottish shipbuilders the confidence to continue to invest in the future with a clear commitment that it will strategically use its contracts to sustain the national capacity to design and build warships in Scotland, so long as industry continues to deliver on its own contractual commitments. (Paragraph
Recent developments have introduced uncertainty about some orders in the pipeline and whether it sets out a clear ‘drumbeat’ of orders needed to sustain Scottish shipyards. The Fleet Solid Support Ships and the National Flagship are two examples. There has been some media speculation about the Type 32s, although the UK Government have stated: “The strategic and long-term investments continue to be on track and will increase the capability and size of the fleet.”
The reply from Government:
“The MOD fully recognises the importance of maintaining a regular drumbeat of orders across the Shipbuilding industry. The NSbS is clear that we do not want a return to the ‘boom and bust’ cycles of historic Naval demand, but to provide a more sustainable demand signal from Government as a whole, providing the certainty required by industry. The 30-year cross-Government Shipbuilding Pipeline of over 150 new vessels aims to do just that. It sets out a huge range of opportunities for UK shipyards and the variety of vessels creates a baseline of volume to encourage industry investment in facilities, infrastructure, innovation and skills. As the pipeline spans a 30-year period, it is subject to change and the details of shipbuilding programmes in the later decades will come with time. Nonetheless, the NSO has committed to updating the shipbuilding pipeline at each multi-year Spending Review to ensure industry has a transparent pipeline of work to plan against.
As the committee have noted, Scotland plays a vital role in defence shipbuilding with both Type 26 and Type 31 being built in Scotland. This is enabled by the strength of the local maritime infrastructure, skills, training and academic resources, which creates expertise in both naval and civil shipbuilding and engineering. The recent announcement of the Type 26 Batch 2 contract with BAE Systems reaffirmed the UK Government’s commitment to shipbuilding in Scotland, which will protect over 1,700 jobs in Scotland and more than 4,000 jobs across the wider UK maritime supply chain into the 2030’s.
The Royal Navy’s Type 31 vessels are being built by Babcock in Rosyth. New facilities and upgrades to existing site infrastructure are being delivered at the shipyard. The New Assembly Hall has cost £31.5 million, which is part of a £60 million investment in Rosyth, in addition to the circa £100 million invested over the last decade. At its height, Babcock has said the programme will employ a workforce of around 1,250 highly-skilled roles in multiple locations throughout the UK, with around 150 new technical apprenticeships to be created. Babcock also envisage that the Design and Build of T31 will support a further 1,250 roles within the wider UK supply chain, including with small and medium enterprises.
The Type 83 destroyer will replace the Type 45 destroyers and will be a key part of the Future Air Dominance System (FADS) that will provide area air defence and offensive strike options to the Carrier Strike Group from the mid-2030s. The department will continue to work with industry and will engage at the earliest opportunity to communicate the chosen procurement strategy. Turning to the Type 32 Frigate programme, this remains a key part of the future fleet. Work continues to ensure the programme is affordable in order to deliver the ships the Royal Navy and Marines need. These ships will be UK-built, with the procurement route yet to be determined.”
Shouldn’t we be diversifying our shipbuilding base? We can’t be constantly beholden to the SNP blackmail, they make up enough bollocks as it is.
The SNP don’t represent everyone in Scotland and of the people that have voted for them not all of them support independence.
There are other ship builders in the U.K. only Babcock and BAE have chosen to do there major warship building in Scotland. If required these companies would mod else where
Punishing Scotland for something that might never happen will only give the independence movement more support.
Nobody supports everything governments say. Got to take who says the most that u agree with.
It’s not about punishing Scotland, its as I have said diversifying shipbuilding around the UK. I appreciate the not all Scot’s support independence but we shouldn’t make decisions on where to build the ships based on the SNP’s blackmail.
It is not just about building ships ot is also about basing them. I think the ability to operate our SSBNs should by duplicated in England. At least to the point of sub maintenance and storage of nukes.
150 boats! Does that include canoes for the cadets
Think it includes the Inflatables sold in Albania
We have so many shipyards in the uk, why don’t we use these has we need so many new ships fast, Devonport, cammell yard, even Falmouth has a dry dock to work on ships 100 ton. Yet we stick with just the 2 shipyards in Scotland which are doing a fantastic job. But they can’t build ships fast enough to what we need
The number of trained, skilled people required?
Exactly this.
However, Belfast and Appledor do have work now on the FSS contract.
So it isn’t a Scottish monopoly situation anymore. That is healthy for keeping prices sane.
Both BAE and Babcock have been clear that if there was independence then they would and could move their operations quite quickly south of the border.
IRL I *guess* that would be the quid pro quo for Faslane remaining as a nuclear base.
I imagine they would make Faslane a SBA and several other sites up there too as conditions for seperation.
Won’t happen anyway.
It is all less likely now the SNP have imploded anyway.
I think the Scots deserve some better government that focuses on the needs of the people of Scotland and not on single issue politics taking over from the day to day.
Who is better though?
The SNP have done some good things as well as bad.
Free prescriptions for all, child payments, free higher education, payments of universal credit weekly if required instead of monthly, Baby box, free bus travel up to 22, free school meals for all P1-3 soon to P5 and so on.
Lots of not good things as well but things like these look like they care a bit more. Little things make people happier.
If there was someone better they should get in but recently useless is to nice a word.
https://jenisbanyak.blogspot.com/2023/04/britains-new-warships-to-be-partly.html
Name another Industry that has security fixed for the next 30 years, in one part of the country. Maybe they can build Camper vans LOL
Ice cream vans ,were the big thing in Glasgow some years back , but they weren’t selling Ice cream Jon
My old ice cream man used to buy stolen spirits and sell them from the van. Junkies chasing the tune with freshly stolen bottles from Tesco.
Looking at that picture, has me asking, will the new shed, allow for a ship with mast to be built under cover?
Someone get the figures worked out.
The Type 83 destroyer will replace the Type 45 destroyers and will be a key part of the Future Air Dominance System (FADS) that will provide area air defence and offensive strike options to the Carrier Strike Group from the mid-2030s.
How many type 83 destroyers are being built?
Probably none as the T83 will be so expensive the MoD will probably have to scrap them to pay for a cock-up somewhere else. They shoulld concentrate on getting the remaining T45s through their PIP and get crews trained on them first
83s will go the way of the old Bristol type 82 build 1 and cancel the rest but at least the carriers were built first for which the 83s will be built too protect David
Yet the comparison is invalid for just that reason. T82 was in build and cancelled when the carriers were cancelled. It is impossible to have carriers without AAW vessels so T83 will have to be built in whatever form.
Just keeping my fingers crossed that a complete complement of 83s are built as their intended tonnage is that of a Cruiser not a Destroyer Louis
Bristol was also, for the time, a very large ship.
At that time RN was focussing on keeping fleet numbers up as build costs exploded upwards with greater system sophistication, compared to the WWII ships that were being retired but relatively primitive electronics systems that were hard to fit in.
Although IRL given how heavy computer systems were and their footprint that was probably about the right size.
The 3D radars of the day also demanded big heavy platforms although I don’t think Bristol’s ever got the 984 that it was supposed to as by then the weight had grown to about 30t which a bit heavy, topside, even for Bristol!
Bristol ended her career with 1022 which was up from 965 double bedstead radar got board one day during refit 84_86 had no 20mm or 30mm mountings too maintain so I went and watched the Dockies fitting the wave guide channels for the 1022 SB
True she has 1022 towards the end of her life.
Post Falklands all the dreadful legacy radars hit the bin pretty fast.
It has to be an absolute minimum of 6, but a sensible number would be 9 to allow for 6 operational ships most of the time.
If they order 6, it confirms they have no intention to keep both carriers operational long term.
Max of 4 for operations per carrier group would be sound 1 always being refitted but its down too HM treasury 9 could always be converted to 6 at a click of the keyboard or the monies not there too defend that expenditure so 2 per carrier group with 2 in refit John
The RN can’t shrink the destroyer fleet any more otherwise it won’t be worth the design, the only way this will happen is if we buy another countrys design, therefore the type 83 will either go ahead or be cancelled and a modified type 26 be produced.
So is there a plan for when Scotland becomes independent?
All these orders will be threatened!
When?
The threat of independence has peaked and is receding, as the SNP suffers from the utter hypocrisy many of us already understood.
Their odd ‘ Scotland the beave’ spell on certain elements of Scottish society has been broken…
The plan would be to ask the shipbuilders that have major warship contracts currently BAE and Babcock to move production else where if building ships in an independent Scotland is unacceptable.
Not complicated.
Should Harland and Wolfe be building ships for proper Irish Navy?
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/04/13/defenceless-ireland-should-be-ashamed-of-itself/
Why would Harland and Wolff build ships for the Irish Navy?
If I remember correctly the Samuel Beckett OPVs were built in Appledore, now like Harland and Wolfe part of Infrastrata.
https://www.harland-wolff.com/news/parent-company-infrastrata-plc-to-trade-under-new-harland-wolff-group-holdings-plc-name/
Don’t worry good ol’ sleepy Joe O’Biden will look out for them- He will have to in order to protect them from nasty Old John Bull…obviously….
I wonder how many Oirish Americans will now be considering voting for him when he stands again ….
Biden brought a big delegation with him. Ireland is now his route to EU influence and likely supplier of arms if they drop their neutrality.
Building ships in Scotland? Surely not!
Scotish shipbuilding is not only at capacity but contrary to everyones expectations demand might keep increasing to the point where the unthinkable might happen. Either speed up production or build facilities elsewhere and train up new workforces.
Completely off-topic, but very good and positive news nonetheless!
Tempest: £656m funding boost for sixth-generation fighter jet
“The UK will propel the sixth-generation fighter jet programme into the next phase, focusing on technology with a £656 million funding allocation.”
LINK
For a moment there I thought it was new money, but it is part of the £2b annouced 2 or 3 years ago.
“This latest investment forms part of more than £2 billion worth of UK Government ”
Good news nevertheless.
It also sounds like they are still making good progress although I would be amazed if they didn’t run into some sort of set back given the complexity of the project.
Cheers CR
Fingers crossed they can keep up the pace!
“The new investment will help industry and MoD assess the maturity of advanced technologies ahead of decisions over what to include on a demonstrator aircraft targeted to fly before 2027.
There are currently around 60 of the technologies being worked on via technology demonstrations and digital concepts by Team Tempest and its partners.”
LINK
It’s positive news, but its still peanuts in the grand scheme of fast jet design and development. Its still baby steps.
I wonder if the navy should consider the option of “Arsenal ships” to support the T83s (maybe even T45s) when operating as part of a CSG?
Let’s get that defence budget to 6% GDP, then definitely.
Wow, that’s high. Only countries that high are Oman, Saudi, Libya Eritrea, North Korea.
Best way would be to grow the economy faster than defence inflation. Then all receivers of government spending benefit.
That’s the only way I could see the Royal Navy getting arsenal ships.
This little bit caught my eye;
“Work continues to ensure the programme is affordable in order to deliver the ships the Royal Navy and Marines need.”
Suggests the T32 will indeed have a littoral raiding capability as part of its mission statement.
Good news for the Royal Marines if true.
Cheers CR