In Focus
BAE Systems is making significant progress on the programme to build the largest and most powerful ships ever to enter service for the Royal Navy, the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.
The Company’s Surface Ships division is responsible for building three sections of the giant hull with Lower Blocks 3 and 4 under construction at the Company’s Govan shipyard on the Clyde and Lower Block 2 underway at its Portsmouth facility.
Since first steel was cut for HMS Queen Elizabeth in July 2009, over 100 units of Lower Block 3 have been completed, equating to over 20 per cent of the section. Full scale production on Lower Block 4 began in January 2010 and over 30 units of this complex section of the carrier now under construction. Weighing in at 9000 and 11,500 tonnes respectively, each individual section will be bigger than a whole Type 45 destroyer.
Making up the stern section, Lower Block 4 will house the power and propulsion equipment for the ship, including propeller shafts, generators and electric propulsion equipment, with more than 5,000 tonnes of steel being used in the construction of the block.
Meanwhile, construction of Lower Block 2 at Portsmouth, the future home of the Queen Elizabeth Class ships, is progressing steadily with the team gearing up to install the diesel generators – the first part of the ship’s propulsion system. Housing machinery spaces, stores, switchboards and some of the ship's accommodation, Lower Block 2 will weigh around 6,000 tonnes and will stand over 18 metres tall, 70 metres long and 40 metres wide.
Alan Johnston, Managing Director of BAE Systems' Surface Ships business, said: "The design and build of ships of this magnitude is a massive engineering feat and a real testament to skills harnessed in our industry across the UK. We will continue to work closely with our partners in the Aircraft Carrier Alliance and to invest in the skills of our employees and our facilities not only to deliver the Royal Navy's future flagships, but also to secure the long-term future of the UK's warship building industry."
BAE Systems is a member of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, responsible for delivering the 65,000 tonne ships which will represent a step change in capability. Further construction work is taking place at A&P Tyne in Tyneside, Cammell Laird on Merseyside and at Babcock’s sites in Appledore and Rosyth. The carrier programme will sustain around 14,000 skilled jobs across industry and stimulate new investment in skills and infrastructure, breathing new lease of life into yards the length and breadth of the country.
Each carrier will provide four acres of sovereign territory, which can be deployed anywhere around the world. They will be used by all three sectors of the UK armed forces and will be versatile enough to be used for operations ranging from supporting war efforts to providing humanitarian aid and disaster relief. Twice as wide and a third longer than Illustrious, the QE Class is planned to be a floating airport – capable of handling as many planes as a regional airport.
