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A decision by the defence secretary Liam Fox to approve the “initial gate” phase in the programme to design the next generation of nuclear submarines will result in the creation of 200 engineering jobs at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria.
BAE will be looking for electrical, mechanical and structural engineers, engineering managers, naval architects and project managers, among others. But are such specialist skills easily attainable in what has historically been a notoriously cyclical sector of the defence industry?
“Although submarines are one of the most complex engineering systems in the world, a lot of the skills involved with designing the vessels are generic to the wider engineering sector,” said John Hudson, managing director of BAE Systems’ Submarine Solutions in Barrow.
“We need people with capabilities in areas such as stress analysis and metallurgy. What we need to do is attract the right people and then give them additional training to understand the nuances. But the underlying skillsets required are not that different. We have recruited 20 people, with another 18 in the pipeline, so we have some way to go.”
The new submarines will carry the UK’s nuclear deterrent and will eventually replace the Vanguard class – Vanguard, Vengeance, Vigilant and Victorious – which is expected to go out of service by the late 2020s.
BAE Systems is one of three Tier One industrial suppliers for the programme, along with Rolls-Royce and Babcock Marine.
Work on the concept design phase of the project has been going on since 2007 but that has now been completed and an outline submarine design has been selected. Now that initial gate has been confirmed, the programme is moving into the assessment phase, the first major stage of the new submarine’s design and development. This is where the vessel concept and requirements are fleshed out and finalised into a detailed hull form and systems.
Hudson said that the initial gate approval to develop the Vanguard class replacement could be seen as a milestone for the UK’s submarine capability, both naval and industrial.
“It’s a very important step, and it was not a decision that was taken lightly,” he said. “The government has accepted the concept solution and initial gate confirms that it is committed to working with us. These are exciting times at the Barrow yard.”
The assessment phase will now take concept design through to full design, hence the need for the additional engineering recruits. “The move from concept to full design will require a lot of analysis work and calculations,” said Hudson. “We also have to be ready to mobilise for the phase after that, so we will be embarking on long-lead procurement for certain primary nuclear components and for other items such as specialist steels and tubing.”
The government has announced that it is to conduct a review of all nuclear options. That means main gate approval is not likely to be given until 2016. Hudson said that building a new nuclear deterrent fleet represented a major investment for the UK, and that assessment of alternatives was “highly appropriate”. He added: “It is right that there is proper public scrutiny.”
The yard at Barrow employs 5,000 people, including several hundred engineers, many of whom are working on the Astute class submarines, of which seven will eventually make up the class. Hudson said that achieving long-term visibility for the yard with the deterrent fleet had created an air of optimism in Barrow, a town that relies on BAE for large-scale, high-quality employment opportunities.
“When I show people at the yard images of the new submarines it creates a frisson of excitement. This is a long-term business, and long-term prospects are good for us, good for the local community and good for our colleagues in the wider submarine supply chain,” said Hudson.