HII and Babcock have signed a new contract that will see major sections of US Virginia-class submarines built in Scotland, deepening industrial links between the two countries and broadening the AUKUS supply base.
The deal authorises Babcock to manufacture complex submarine assemblies for Virginia-class Block VI boats at its Rosyth yard. The companies cast the move as a step that strengthens production resilience and expands the number of suppliers trusted to handle high-tolerance submarine structures.
HII’s chief executive Chris Kastner said the agreement marks “a significant next step in delivering on our joint commitment to enhance both organisations’ capabilities, for the benefit of U.S. and U.K. programs.” He added that “leveraging Babcock’s reach and expertise in the U.K. will reinforce our supplier base, strengthen submarine production in the U.S., and support the trilateral AUKUS partnership.”
David Lockwood, the company’s chief executive, said: “Babcock’s advanced manufacturing expertise has enabled us to build on our established missile tube assembly capability, to deliver additional complex assemblies for the US submarine fleet.” He termed the broadened partnership “an optimisation of joint capabilities for the benefit of the wider AUKUS security partnership.”
Defence Secretary John Healey said the contract reflects growing global confidence in Scotland’s defence workforce. He described the announcement as “another vote of confidence in the workers and skills of Scotland’s defence industry,” adding that it “demonstrates that the UK is becoming a global leader for advanced marine and submarine engineering.” Healey said the government is “proud to wholeheartedly support Scottish defence workers on the world stage.”
The companies have been widening their cooperation since 2023, including work on nuclear decommissioning, the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification programme and unmanned underwater systems. At DSEI, they signed a separate MoU combining HII’s REMUS UUVs with Babcock’s launch systems to pursue torpedo-tube deployment options for autonomous systems.
Taken together, the steps indicate a coordinated effort to fuse US, UK and Australian industrial capacity for undersea programmes where the production pipeline is under strain and demand is rising.
Oh, THIS is why Babcock and HII are partnering on the LUSVs.
ABC was right about it not being their stellar delivery record, quite the opposite in fact.
Well it’s nice to see someone read what I said, thank you 😉 But I would point out that when it comes to mutual advantageous cooperation between the U.K. and US in the development and production of Submarines this is absolutely nothing new.
Fact is we have been doing this ever since the first Holland design was built up at Barrow and it’s continued for over a century, for nearly every huge technological advancement from the US we have added one of our own.
Everyone focuses on the US / UK Mutual Defence Treaty as an agreement to share Tech on Nuclear weapons, well the truth is it signalled a formal partnership of expertise across the board with each adding its own strengths to a fairly common mix of tech !
Metallurgy, Nuclear propulsion, sound suppression, hydro dynamics, sonar, weapons handling etc etc etc the list just goes on and on.
Fact is when it comes to designing, building and delivering weapons handling systems Babcock are absolutely top of the league and you would be surprised just how many countries build boats with their designs in them.
So no it doesn’t surprise me that the HII is reaching out to Babcock to boost capability, just like it wouldn’t surprise me to say that there are certain UK parts in nearly every US built boat in service.
To be quite honest it P’s me off that we continuously run our country, our engineers and our expertise down. There are some things we are really rather good at !
As for MOD, procurement, politicians and project management, well IMHO the only difference between us and America is we can’t afford the scale of ineptitude that we both now suffer from ! 🤷🏼♂️
Thanks, nice summary.
So what parts do you think Rosyth will be building? Will they expand from weapons handling to build the entire bow and torpedo room, or something smaller?
I think hull sections is the plan. Then ship them across to HII for integration and final assembly. The USN is desperate to increase output of Virginia class Block V and VI hulls, knowing that their SSNs have a huge technical and qualitative advantage over the PLAN and Russian derivatives.
If the USN can increase production to 3+ Virginia class subs per year this way that is precisely what they will want to do.
Given the forth coming elections in Scotland next May, with the possibility that the SNP will no longer be the party in power, it will be interesting to see what if any changes take place in regards to ramping up all aspects of both building and dismantling of Rn vessels of all types.
If we can dismantle them as fast as the first one and keep that pace or faster than I’m not that concerned about it.
The thing that was wrong was the heel dragging to get it started.
Hi SB sorry to disagree but what is fundamentally wrong is the that we are a relatively small geographical country and have in relation to far bigger countries the highest amount of nuclear waste. Yet we have done nothing to securely store it away long term !
So we have at long last got around to dismantling 65 years worth of nuclear Submarines but done zilch about 75 years of the nuclear waste !
I agree the geological waste repository is a massive priority.
But the muddled thinking on that can’t be allowed to get in the way of the rest of DNE.
It’s actually the biggest Elephant in the Backyard when it comes to AUKUS and right now is when it needs to be addressed ! We will be in a situation where due to NPT the Australians can neither build, maintain nor decommission the reactor sections of their SSNs, so what happens in 40 years ? Where are they decommissioned and more importantly how is the resulting waste stored and where ? As it stands we or the US will have to take care of it because there is always a residual amount of recoverable NPT material.
Australia may not have our volume of waste but they have done zilch about what they have already. TBH I would have tied a waste repository into the AUKUS agreement as a precondition they have a huge, geologically stable, sparsely populated continent. We don’t !
That’s kinda wrong, they’re not exactly doing nothing.
Australia can maintain and thay can decommission the reactors sections of their SSNs, they already maintain US SSn’s. as they did with USS Hawaii SSN 776 HMAS Stirling on Aug 22, 2024. “…first instance in history of a joint American-Australian team performing maintenance on a nuclear-powered attack submarine,” Rear Admiral Lincoln Reifsteck, USN AUKUS Integration and Acquisition programme manager, said in a statement.
“Australia will be a “responsible nuclear steward” and manage all radioactive waste generated by its own Virginia Class and SSN-AUKUS submarines on its soil. This includes both low-level waste from daily operations and high-level waste (spent fuel/reactor compartments) from decommissioning. No foreign waste, the current government has stated that Australia will not process or dispose of spent nuclear fuel or reactors from the US or UK submarines.
HMAS Stirling, WA. Temporary storage at a controlled industrial facility at the naval base on Garden Island has been approved for the temporary storage of low-level radioactive waste generated by visiting UK and US submarines, as well as future Australian ones. The facility is expected to be ready for US and UK submarine rotations from 2027.
Osborne Shipyard, SA. Legislation has passed to allow for a waste management facility at the shipyard, which will handle low-level waste from construction and maintenance activities.
Permanent disposal site for high-level waste. A permanent disposal site for high-level waste will be on existing or future Defence land, in a location remote from large populations.The first Australian submarine will not require defueling and disposal until the 2050s, giving the government several decades to establish a permanent facility. The government is working with the Australian Radioactive Waste Agency (ARWA) and other agencies to review and identify potential locations. The process is expected to involve extensive community and Indigenous group consultation.”
See the ~
AUSTRALIAN NAVAL NUCLEAR POWER SAFETY ACT 2024 (NO. 91, 2024) – SECT 10
a simple browser search will bring it up it contains –
Regulated activities and designated zones
(1) Regulated activities can only occur in a designated zone or in relation to an Australian submarine.
Note: Facility activities can only occur in a designated zone, and submarine activities and material activities can occur either in a designated zone or in relation to an Australian submarine.
(2) Each of the following is a designated zone :
(a) the Stirling designated zone;
(b) the Osborne designated zone;
(c) any other area in Australia that is prescribed by the regulations to be a designated zone.
(3) The Stirling designated zone is the area known as HMAS Stirling at Garden Island in Western Australia, as described by the regulations.
(4) The Osborne designated zone is the area known as Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia, as described by the regulations.
– It has various links which expand on the legalities; such as the all the designated zones etc..
So Type 31 for the Consecration class replacement then 😂
I had to take a step back !
UK builds USN Subs (well large sections) even before any real AUKUS work.
I sense a disturbance in the Americas. I sense people there are not going to be happy.
Little known fact we have been building small but very important parts for decades.
Yup, but these are “Major Sections”.
Hence my comment.
Sadly BAE has sold off its US factory that was making all the propulsors for US submarines.
Smart move by the US. They need a supplier to increase delivery speed of their submarines as they too have seen a reduction in skills to deliver the number of submarines they require.
Within the AUKUS framework they can leverage capacity and improve delivery times.
Additionally it’s a win for the UK as the work and associated skills are needed for our own submarine production and Babcock get a big win as they are able to use the skills and expertise they obtain and develop to offer some utility in future production opportunities whether it is submarines, ships or the next generation of autonomous underwater vehicles etc.
There were questions here in recent days over how our submarine programme can possibly cope with the AUKUS submarine programme and concerns about Barrow expansion, is this to be part of the answer I wonder.
This is a very very smart move by the U.S.. they must increase their SSN output significantly as they are on a trajectory to 34ish SSNs in the 2030s.. just as Chineses SSN production is heading through the roof… this is very very good. It’s shows someone in the US is paying attention as this will not have happened without some serious intergovernmental conversations… if we can help the US build a few of its SSNs a bit quicker that is huge for the future geostrategic balance in the pacific in 2030-2040.. also if it ups our own industrial capacity to later churn out SSN AUKUS then it’s a very very very good thing for the UK as well.
I do struggle with what the hell the messaging out the US means sometime..one minute it’s like they would not even piss on us to put out a fire, the next they want to be besties….
My thoughts entirely, a bit of a shock but if it’s as it appears a very welcome one. Doesn’t seem to add up to America first or America Only on the surface except that it demonstrates how sensible US policy (as it so often was in the past infact) is about benefiting yourself by involving others, how very un MAGA in essence. If it’s a sign that the US is seeing the light in this respect that is welcome but as others have stated the state of US submarine building is such that they had to find a solution. Good news for Australia too as it affects their chances of ‘borrowing’ US submarines as agreed and could help keep AUKUS on schedule or at least reduce potential delays as much as possible.
And UK is funded to increase submarine manufacturing capacity.
Doubles all round I think?
This is very good news for NATO nuclear submarine manufacturing capacity.
I sense that this has been brewing for quite a while.
As with BAES having some competition in the UK this could also wake things up in US submarine manufacture which got quite stale.
We shouldn’t forget that APCL are building significant sub-sections for the Dreadnought class SSBN’s under contract to BAE Systems. According to Google AI search the Cammell Laird yard is building “casings, keels, waists, and internal modules”.
It seems that there is quite a lot going on behind the scenes and the upgrade to the BAE Systems Barrow yard is set to double it’s capacity according to google, which is all to the good.
Also, I read somewhere recently that industry has invested up to 4x the amount that the government has in increased capacity and infrastructure in the UK, I think it was a quote from Healey..? If that is true, why?
The government also claims they have let over 1000 new ‘major’ contracts. Of course, major refers to value of the contract so much of that could be on boring stuff like ammunition and service housing rather than shinny new frigates that get everyone so excited. So lots of stuff must be going on under the ‘reporting’ radar otherwise industry would be sitting on their hands and wallets. It we don’t see a significant up lift in ordering of headline kit soon it will all be for nought. Thing is this has been going on for years now and the government doesn’t seem to be selling any good news particularly well either. It is all getting rather odd.
Cheers CR
My sense is that something more sophisticated is going on at Babcock Rosyth.
The CL external bits are all part of the non critical components.
Industrial capacity has increased partially to fuel exports as there is a big demand for armaments so investing in capacity is commercially sound. However, if UKPLC doesn’t start spending soon the next round of investments will disappear into JVs in the countries doing the spending.
Rosyth has aluminium pipe welders, they are required to produce the steam piping for reactors and its a highly specialised skill as outside shipbuilding and plumbing on commercial aircraft there is very little demand.
Hi M8, Why do you think a Conservative Government privatised SFM ? And it isn’t just SFM, there are other U.K companies that have been building bits for decades and no it isn’t RR !
Good news all round as this really helps to build and strengthen the UK/US Submarine manufacturing skills base.
Given the recent US defence strategy document, why should we build US defence stuff? Trump’s government wants to interfere in European politics and reduce the power of Europe
Let’s hope the current US defence strategy only lasts for Trump’s time in office and the US return to a recognised western strategy rather than selling out to Russia.
Given Taco’s additional comments today both the UK and Europe need to wake up, America under Trump are not our friends.
If the current US view of the world continues after Trump then the rest of NATO need to move away from buying American equipment
I actually think most of what Trump said today makes sense. He’s calling out real issues: weak leadership in parts of Europe, mass immigration with little control, and the growing instability we’re seeing in some cities and services.
When you look at the pressure on public systems, the social tensions, and the ongoing problems around identity and integration, it’ss hard to say he’s wrong. Europe is drifting, and he’s pointing to uncomfortable truths that many would rather ignore.
So yes — I think Trump is right to sound the alarm. Europe needs to wake up.
US Customs has just started a 60 day consultation on requiring all visitors to the US to give access to the last five years of their social media history, to provide all phone and email addresses you have contacted in the last five years, the names addresses and telephone numbers of all your relatives, and in addition to photographs and fingerprints they already collect they want to record the DNA and Iris scans of visitors.
Its a a fascist state in the making.
Good news.Though Perhaps this the start of Trumps policy to start meddling in Scottish European politics
Babcock doesn’t even have enough staff to keep T31 on pace, where will they find (skilled) people for this?
Babcock is like a lot of big companies they have different divisions and when it comes to Weapons handling systems they have a huge worldwide footprint and have done for decades ! Until the T31 they had never even attempted to build a Warship from scratch, for them this is a brand new industry.
They’ve set up a new academy in Scotland to train aluminium welders.
Or to Weld Aluminium Trains !!!
Sorry.