The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has awarded a £155m contract to provide engineering support to the Royal Navy’s (RN) nuclear submarine flotilla over the next ten years.
As part of the Submarine Support Management Group (SSMG), BMT has played a major role in keeping RN submarines operating safely and capably at sea over the past 11 years. With the award of the submarine engineering support contract (SESC), BMT companies will continue their key involvement in SSMG as a sub-contractor to the team leader, Babcock International PLC.
Based in Keynsham near Bristol, SSMG will be responsible for providing a wide range of design and technical support services. Specialists from SSMG will work in a joint team with personnel from the MoD’s defence equipment and support (DE&S) organisation at Abbey Wood in Bristol.
The joint team will place greater emphasis on managing the submarines’ capabilities and condition through life rather than focus on specific tasks. This will open up opportunities to secure cost-reduction efficiencies and deliver performance improvements across the enterprise.
The team will also introduce measures to increase personnel development through supervision, development planning and mentoring. This will help ensure the UK sustains, in years to come, a base of suitably qualified and experienced personnel (SQEP) to underpin its submarine capability.
David Rainford, newly appointed sector director for defence at BMT, said: “We are proud to continue supporting the vital work of keeping RN submarines operating effectively and safely at sea. We have built up excellent relations with our colleagues in the DE&S, Babcock and SEA over the past decade.
“We are eagerly anticipating the prospects of working more closely and efficiently together promised by this contract and the spirit of co-operation promoted by it.”