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The UK Ministry of Defence has announced a £1.8 billion (AU$3.47 billion), 15-year contract with the Royal Navy to enhance and improve the availability and resilience of the fleet.
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This contract comes at a time when the Royal Navy, like the Royal Australian Navy, faces mounting challenges to sustained, concurrent deployments, particularly in the Middle East.
The contract, Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team (MSET), will sharpen the focus on equipment availability, predicting problems – leveraging innovations in AI and data management – rather than reacting when they emerge.
MSET is designed to be a scalable service model providing the Royal Navy with greater stability and breadth in the level of support delivered to the fleet during this complex transition period as a result of the introduction of new platforms like the Type 26 and Type 31 frigates, and the new Dreadnought ballistic missile submarines.
This will also include continued investing in new dockland facilities, AI, data analysis tools, and skills, which will deliver greater resilience for the RN platforms, with Thales’ contract to support over 450 highly skilled, UK-based, engineering, IT and supports jobs as well as many hundreds of apprenticeship and training opportunities all across the UK.
Alex Cresswell, chairman and chief executive officer of Thales in the UK, stressed the importance of this contract for the Royal Navy, particularly as the global strategic order continues to come under assault, saying, “This £1.8 billion contract with Thales will help keep more Royal Navy ships at sea for longer, by harnessing the latest developments in artificial intelligence, data analysis and improved dockland facilities.”
Over the life of the contract, Thales expects that the contract will deliver an average reduction in turnaround time of 100 days per repair, spares lead times will be reduced by an average of 44 days and reliability improved by 10 per cent.
"Data-driven decision making enables MSET to go beyond the current support horizons and make a substantial improvement in the availability and resilience of the Royal Navy whilst preparing for AUKUS, the landmark security and defence partnership between Australia, US and UK,” Cresswell added.
The contract will be supported by investments and improvements to Royal Navy facilities and infrastructure HMNB Devonport, Faslane, Portsmouth, and Bahrain to deliver an advanced test and repair capability, allowing specialist technical and engineering skills at the waterfront to provide direct support to the Royal Navy.
UK industry will benefit from the contract, with Thales expecting it to create 450 high skilled jobs all across the UK and support the training of hundreds of apprentices in much-needed engineering skills in numerous local communities, with a further threefold increase in supply chain spend, supporting approximately 1,200 additional staff.
