Babcock International has opened a new office in Portsmouth in support of its critical five year Marine Systems Support Partner (MSSP) contract with the Ministry of Defence.
Located close to the home of the Royal Navy’s surface fleet, the office opening coincided with MSSP’s first anniversary and highlights the collaboration across Babcock, the Royal Navy and the key support partners operating under the banner of Team Assure say the firm. According to a news release:
“Marked by a naming ceremony, Babcock representatives, Team Assure colleagues, Royal Navy and key stakeholders joined together to celebrate the latest milestone in the contract which also recognised a number of successes including the completion of HMS Queen Elizabeth’s fixed wing flying trials conducted in the US with the new Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II aircraft.”
Matt Harrison, Director Naval Support at the Royal Navy, said:
“This dedicated MSSP facility offers a collaborative environment where the critical delivery aspects of MSSP can be brought to life. The opening is the culmination of the team’s work over the past year and marks how far we have come.”
Alex Brown, Support Director within Babcock’s Defence Systems Technology business, added:
“MSSP is a proven, successful partnership. By bringing together the best of industry in this new approach to supporting the Royal Navy, and putting the Royal Navy maintainers at the heart of the solution, we are already delivering effective results and I am confident about the future.”
Babcock – “Confident about the future” ok then, just not in ship building then.
just let pompey and devonport build ships again, reestablish lost skills
It would make a lot more sense to have shipbuilders concentrated in naval towns. The workforce can be kept busy maintaining locally based ships
Yep. To the military industrial complex and it’s fat cat shareholders.
“government has people who know about contracts and how to negotiate them ”
Given the last two years and May, no.
From personal experience they don’t have people who know.
I have seen first hand the results of gross mismanagement by Babcock’s immediate competitor and how the UK Govt ended up footing the bill on a contract that was badly written and implemented.
There’s a great article on Save the Royal Navy for 2 years ago.
https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/defence-procurement-where-it-has-all-gone-wrong/
Not sure it would be any better if it were nationalised. Government organisations tend to be inefficient and bloated.
I think the T31 competition looks like our best chance and seems to be going the right way.
I think its good news Babcock getting close to their customer. Any business that undestands and values its customer would do the same. Besides BAe shouldn’t have a monopoly after they closed Vospers. The Navy need at least two shipbuilders as suppliers.
Agreed that the baby needs 2 shipbuilders. Perhaps if the government awarded the contracts for the R F A support ships to the UK consortium we might be able to have internal UK competition to get good value. See my petition
https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/235377
Did anyone else also see the story of the new crane that will be put in place at Portsmouth?
It will serve No. 14 and 15 docks.
I blame Brexit, oh right sorry !
What’s “Brexit” ?
As we move into a future outside the European Union, the Royal Navy is now stretched way beyond what is acceptable or sustainable in the long term. On top of the ever increasing and much more dangerous challenge from Russia, the service is now tasked with a permanent presence in the Gulf, the Pacific / South China Sea, the Black Sea, Mediterranean, North Atlantic on top of other standing commitments. Now surely, the time has come to build up the Royal Navy in response to these increasing threats to our National security and interests overseas. Could Devonport Dockyard therefore, be used to build or assemble (final assembly) ships, if it is decided to expand the Fleet beyond what is currently being planned? The Dockyard has all the available infrastructure after all, and with Babcock, they certainly have all the expertise. With Portsmouth Dockyard taking the Carriers, Type 45’s, five Type 23’s, and the Type 31e’s to follow, Devonport on the other hand, is losing the remainder of the Trafalgar Class Hunter Killers. Building ships there would breathe new life into the Dockyard, be consistent with the National Shipbuilding Strategy, providing long term job sustainability for the local people in and around the Plymouth area, and a huge economic boost for the South West.
Somehow the RN managed with a fleet 5 times as large before the UK joined the EU. It can be done again.
We had a fleet or fleets far bigger when we werent as rich as we are now! But cutting th frigates and destroyers, submarines numbers in half not long ago is a dam joke! W will never for decades now have a big fleet! Politics won’t allow it!