British engineering firm Babcock has been named as the preferred bidder to build five new frigates in a contract worth £1.25bn.
British engineering firm Babcock has been named as the preferred bidder to build five new frigates in a contract worth £1.25bn.
The Type 31 warships will be built at the Rosyth dockyard in Fife where Babcock currently employs 1,500 people. It is expected to provide work for a further 1,000-1,250 in the supply chain.
PM Boris Johnson announced the plans in front of the HMS Belfast in London. He said: “I see the UK as a great shipbuilding nation – we already are but we want to expand it.
"What it delivers is high quality jobs for young people - really high-skilled jobs for young people in this country - but also massive export opportunities of vessels that not only help to keep the peace but tackle piracy and help deal with immigration issues across the seas,” he added.
Building the new vessels would add to the 19 warships the Royal Navy current has in service and comes just months after a British-flagged ship was seized by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards in the strait of Hormuz.
The contract will secure jobs at the Babcock-owner dockyard in Fife until 2028, on completion of the final ship. Two £6.2bn aircraft carriers under construction at the site are almost complete.