QinetiQ has signed an agreement with the Ministry of Defence to modernise 16 of the country’s critical testing facilities.
The £1.3bn capital investment will be funded by QinetiQ and subsequently recovered from the MoD over the life of the contract. This is a 25-year contract under which QinetiQ will provide experimentation, test, evaluation and training support to the MoD.
The funding will support the employment of around 1,800 people across 16 MoD-owned testing sites through the Long Term Partnering Agreement (LTPA) with QinetiQ, say the firm.
According to Qinetiq, the investment projects include:
- noise and electromagnetic signature measurement to enhance the “stealth” performance of ships, submarines and aircraft, enabling them to better evade detection;
- ground-based evaluation of electronic warfare, communication and advanced weapon systems, to enable operational advantage; and
- a new digital test and evaluation ‘backbone’ to accelerate the processing of critical data and associated information, to enable simultaneous testing across multiple locations, essential for supporting new, complex defence capabilities.
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said:
“Ensuring our cutting-edge equipment is tried and tested before it is sent to the frontline is crucial to our military’s capability.
This £1.3bn investment will not only guarantee our Armed Forces’ have the reliable, state-of-the-art weaponry they need, but will also support jobs across the nation.”
Steve Wadey, QinetiQ Chief Executive, said:
“Today’s agreement enhances our contribution to the safety and operational effectiveness of UK armed forces in an era when threats to our security remain acute and are changing rapidly. In line with our strategy, we are introducing innovative ways of working and making selective investments to reinforce the UK’s position as a world-leader in the generation and assurance of military capability. This will enable us to support the MOD’s future programmes and win more work from both UK and international customers.”
Chief Executive Officer at DE&S, the MOD’s procurement agency, Sir Simon Bollom said:
“This latest contract amendment under the LTPA demonstrates how we are continuing to support our key defence programmes by investing in essential test and evaluation services. This is another example of how DE&S is working collaboratively with industry and the Front Line Commands to ensure our Armed Forces have the best value equipment and training to meet the operational demand.”
Good.
Excellent news.
These varied facilities are vital.
Being a bit cynical, I suspect some badly needed infrastructure modernisation is included in this £1.3bn investment. Perhaps even most of it.
Ha, yes you may be right.
Dundrennan thank you Dads. Whatever happened to that project?
Pass. With the land access in Scotland 2003 act or some such, a path was agreed across the range, but it’s still there, and not hearing anything can mean nothing – or everything I guess. They’ve probably got an enanced positional accuracy small bore long range automatically tracking advanced rail gun permanently targetted on Corbyn.
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/37244/public_access_route_leaflet_v2.pdf
I assume the MOD will be providing the land / buildings, as 1.3b would run out fast if needed to buy the amount of land required for a testing facility.
“The Ministry of Defence (MOD) is one of the largest landowners in the country, with an estate nearly equal to 2% of the UK land mass.”
and a massive lot of buildings too.
Yes but, “Poor Farmers and Her Magesty own pretty much all the rest. with the National Trust owning everything else.
Oh and lets not forget the Chinese, Arabs, Americans and Jewish segments.
Still, It’s nice to think that an Englishman’s Home Is still His Castle.
Not anti Royal here just thinking It would be nice to have a bit of the action from birth.
And on that note, I’m off to the Shed.
Same for Scotland, maybe more so, sites dotted around the coast aw well as inland, and Wales too. No idea about NI I’m afraid.
Yes Steve.
All this is taking place at long established ranges, owned by the MoD, but run by the contractor. The facilities already exist, and will be modernised with this money.
When DERA was privatised these sites remained under Mod ownership but are run by the contractor under the LPTA.
Aberporth fires SAM, tests UAV and radar over Cardigan Bay. Same in the Hebrides. Rona, Kyle of Lochalsh and a few other lochs have sensitive equipment for measuring the signatures of submarines and ships. Shoeburyness and Eskmeals “blow stuff up” and there are several others.
No new land needed.
This sounds promising. Anything that is targeted towards innovation and keeping us at the forefront of development gets the thumbs up from me. I keep getting the sense that despite the shortfall in money for the armed forces and the years of cuts and reductions, behind the scenes we have really got our shit together and building a solid foundation for the future. Im hopeful things will be really good down the line. Or maybe I’ve had too much crack already tonight?
It does appear to be.
how’s It going with the Goat Mate ? Any goatlings yet ?
Goat? What Goat!??
Well, It’s like this. TS Confessed (or Came out) on a previous thread, saying that he liked having “Relations” with Goats.
Well That’s fine by me , and perfectly inkeeping with current trends and I think I added a capitol “G” In a previous reply somewhere. So now It’s looking something like this (If you include S for Sheep).
LBGTSGQGNDCS.
Ahhhh, yes I recall that now.
I suppose the are places you could go…certain bars…
Which ones are you talking about? I’ve gathered many many goatlings in my time, spread far and wide, beyond these shores too. I have plans one day to make them rise up in a sort of Goat Jihad to form a homeland where men are free to love goats without judgement.
Fathered not gathered
They have to be gathered before any Fathering can begin !
How much for accomodation ???