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UK Orders Two Aircraft Carriers As Defense Budget Gets Big Boost
London (RIA Novosti) Jul 26, 2007 The U.K. Ministry of Defence confirmed an order for two new aircraft carriers Wednesday as part of a three-year defense budget increase of 7.7 billion pounds ($15 million). "The carriers ... enable us to deliver increased strategic effect and influence around the world at a time and place of our choosing," the British defense secretary said. "This Comprehensive Spending Review means an additional 7.7 billion pounds for Defence by 2011 - the longest period of sustained real growth in planned defence spending since the 1980s," Des Browne said. The new 65,000-ton carriers, to be commissioned in 2014 and 2016 and described by Browne as a "step change in our capability," will be christened the HMS Queen Elizabeth and the HMS Prince of Wales. The order, worth 3.8 billion pounds (nearly $8 billion), will be given primarily to domestic producers, he said, involving about 10,000 specialists across the economy and creating many jobs in the country. One of the largest contractors is likely to be BAE Systems, a company that was recently embroiled in a corruption scandal, specifically about the methods it used to win a contract to supply warplanes to Saudi Arabia.
earlier related report It covers support of nuclear powerplant systems on board the current fleet of 13 Swiftsure, Trafalgar and Vanguard class submarines and the new Astute class submarines when they enter service. The contract breaks new ground - Rolls-Royce and MoD will form a joint team to set agreed service levels, and the company will be paid for meeting those targets rather than through individual contracts. Rolls-Royce will also receive additional incentive payments for improvements which create savings for the Ministry when the submarines are in service. Both parties will also share any savings made through improved business efficiency and effectiveness. The new working arrangements respond to the Ministry's requirement for closer co-operation from its contractor base to better manage costs, as outlined in the Defence Industrial Strategy White Paper. Minister of State for Defence Equipment and Support, Lord Drayson, said: "This landmark partnering contract ensures the United Kingdom secures its ability to manufacture and support this strategic equipment in the future. It will deliver more cost-effective management of submarine maintenance and safeguard jobs and essential skills in the UK. This is a key element of the Defence Industrial Strategy aimed at maximising benefits to the front line, and is a major step forward for the reshaping of those parts of our industries that support the vital military capabilities provided by Royal Navy nuclear submarines." Steve Ludlam, Rolls-Royce President - Submarines, said: "We are committed to working ever more closely with the MoD to reach jointly agreed goals. The long-term nature of the agreement allows both sides to better plan and prioritise, sharing the benefits of savings made."
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The Sub That Quickbird Saw
Washington (UPI) Jul 20, 2007The Federation of American Scientists scored a major journalistic scoop earlier this month. As previously reported by UPI, the venerable, Washington-based arms-control group claimed to have identified the very first commercial imagery of a new Chinese ballistic-missile-carrying nuclear submarine. |
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