The head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Director of Naval Acquisition have visited Navantia UK’s Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast as investment in the Fleet Solid Support programme surpassed GBP 98.5 million.
The head of the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and the Director of Naval Acquisition have visited Navantia UK’s Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast to see progress on the Fleet Solid Support programme, as investment at the site surpassed £98.5 million, according to Navantia UK.
Commodore Sam Shattock, Commodore Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and Rear Admiral Matthew Stratton, Director Naval Acquisition, toured the upgraded fabrication hall and saw mechanised panel lines, robotic plasma cutting systems and automated quality control processes being installed. Once fully operational in July, the new equipment will make Harland and Wolff one of the most advanced shipyards in Europe, in line with Navantia’s Shipyard 5.0 concept using robotics and AI.
Donato Martínez, CEO of Navantia UK, said it was a pleasure to host the delegation and that they had seen how investment was “translating into capability for the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary”, adding that “with more than £98 million now invested at Harland and Wolff, we are building both the ships and the industrial base behind them.”
Rear Admiral Stratton said the visit had highlighted “the strength of the UK’s industrial base and the value of continued investment in skills, facilities, small businesses and people” and that the partnership approach was “fundamental to successful programme delivery.”
Commodore Shattock said visiting the yard and meeting the workforce had been “extremely encouraging”, describing the scale of progress, ambition and technical expertise as underlining the importance of the programme to the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and wider Naval Service. “The FSS class of ships will be central to sustaining carrier and fleet operations worldwide,” he said.
Test blocks are now being built in Belfast, with bow sections under construction at Appledore in Devon and further blocks at Navantia’s shipyards in Spain. Navantia UK’s investment across Belfast and Appledore now stands at £114.4 million combined, against a planned total of £157 million across all four UK shipyards. The company currently employs 222 apprentices, with a further 90 due to start in August and September.
