US-based military shipbuilding company HII has signed a contract with Babcock International, extending their strategic partnership in the construction of the Virginia-class submarine.
This contract marks the first time a Virginia-class outsourced contract has been awarded to Babcock for specific work supporting HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS).
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Babcock is authorised to produce complex submarine assemblies for the Virginia-class Block VI fast-attack submarines at its Rosyth facility in Scotland.
The partnership’s expansion with Babcock will grow the pool of suppliers able to carry out large structure work to the required quality standards.
HII stated that by expanding its partnership with Babcock, it will be able to broaden the pool of suppliers that can carry out large structure work while meeting the requisite quality standards.
HII president and CEO Chris Kastner said: “This is a significant next step in delivering on our joint commitment to enhance both organisations’ capabilities, for the benefit of US and UK programmes.”
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By GlobalDataHII and Babcock originally established a strategic agreement in July 2023 to collaborate on naval and civil nuclear decommissioning, as well as construction projects in both the UK and US.
The companies have since collaborated in the US, UK, and Australia, including the Australian Submarine Supplier Qualification programme.
At the DSEI event earlier this year, HII and Babcock entered into a memorandum of understanding that combines the former’s REMUS uncrewed underwater vehicles with the latter’s submarine weapon handling and launch systems.
This collaboration is focused on enabling uncrewed underwater vehicle torpedo tube launch and recovery, with an aim to enhance undersea capabilities for the Royal Navy and allied naval forces.
Babcock International Group CEO David Lockwood said: “Babcock’s advanced manufacturing expertise has enabled us to build on our established missile tube assembly capability, to deliver additional complex assemblies for the US submarine fleet.
“This expansion of our strategic partnership with HII enables us to optimise our joint capabilities for the benefit of the wider AUKUS security partnership.”
