First steel cut on new carrier as BAE posts drop in profits
BAE's Phil Clayton 59 - programming steel futter for the new HMS Prince of Wales class ship
THE first steel has been cut to begin work on the second of the Royal Navy’s new carriers in Portsmouth.
Admiral George Zambellas this morning pressed a red button to begin a laser machine which cut the first plate of steel for HMS Prince of Wales.
It comes as Portsmouth shipbuilders’ work on the first 6,000-tonne section of the first carrier, HMS Queen Elizabeth, nears completion ahead of it being shipped on a large barge up to Rosyth in Scotland where the carriers are being assembled.
Adml Zambellas said: ‘These two magnificent ships, the Prince of Wales and her sister ship HMS Queen Elizabeth, will be in service for 50 years.
‘They will be pivotal in our ability to project power and influence at range for decades to come. In such, they are a clear statement of strategic intent. These are no ordinary warships.’
The steel cutting comes as BAE Systems posted a seven per cent fall in its full-year profits today.
Speculation continues to build that the defence giant is looking to move its shipbuilding operations away from Portsmouth as it conducts a review of its business.
But Mick Ord, managing director of BAE Systems naval ships, which is based in Portsmouth, would not be drawn on the issue today.
He said: ‘No decisions have been made. We are doing a review and we are not working to any fixed time scale.
‘What we are doing is a proper review of what our capabilities are not just in Portsmouth but across the UK to continue to deliver complex warships.’
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Friday 25 May 2012
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Comments
There are 16 comments to this article
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wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 08:49 PMTwo issues, providing the right amount of money to enable our armed forces to carry out the tasks they are assigned and then providing them with the right equipment. Labour got it wrong both counts, not enough money and what was made available was spent on the wrong equipment (we dont need two very large aircraft carriers). Easy enough to understand.
amoeba frank
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 07:56 PMThanks for confirming my point! In post 12 you complain about Labour investing in new aircraft carriers but in post 14 you bemoan a lack of investment in defence by Labour. Make your mind up.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 07:22 PMTwo spring to mind, the £1bn cut in the helicopter budget in 2004 just when our troops urgently needed them in Iraq and Afghanistan and the sale of 3 ex RN Type 23 frigates to Chile. I have plenty more so please dont hesitate to ask if they required.
amoeba frank
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 06:22 PMIf I may address you, all seeing, all knowing and all powerful Oz, I don't remember the Tories complaining about Labour's defence spending plans. On the contrary, there were regular warnings that the Navy was shrinking too fast and calls for MORE money to be spent.
wizard of oz
Friday, February 17, 2012 at 12:16 PMAnd 80 years ago they said no battleships = no navy. Time moves on, we cant afford these large ships, we never could and shame on the last Government for ordering them without a clue where the money was coming from to equip them.....There is going to be no rerun of the 1982 Falklands war , just as there willbe no German U boats sinking our shipping in the Atlantic in the next 50 years.. Time moves on, new threats will emerge we must equip our forces to meet those threats not fight old wars which will never happen.
Sun Seeker
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 08:35 PMNo aircraft carriers = no proper navy. Well nothing more than a defence surveying Navy. These two ships need to be built...as for BAE - my guess is they have adopted this runour mill strategy to pressure the govt into placing orders.
Tman
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 04:29 PMVery true Mr Vermin, but then again, those in power thought much the same prior to the Falklands War too, and look how wrong they were....
urbanvermin
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 02:08 PMTwentieth century minds fighting twentieth century wars. When a foreign virus shuts down a major component of our energy infrastructure I'm not really sure what good 2 giant chunks of floating metal are going to be...
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:45 PMTo be fair to Zambellas he didnt stipulate which navy the ship would spend those 50 years in service with, my best guess would be the Indian Navy
blueshirt
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:26 PMsorry Admiral Zambellas, magnificent ships they may be, but they are not going to be in service for 50 years as you claim..indeed, according to current government policy, HMS Prince of Wales is not going to BE in service at all, she is destined to go straight into mothballs on completion.....theoretically until such time as a national crisis requires her re-activation, but, I fear that she will be in mothballs until whatever government is in power can find justification for flogging her off or scrapping her...
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:11 PMWell with Blair and Bush gone, I guess going to war is a lot less likely. I think we spend too much on our UK defence industry, producing overpriced rubbish for our armed forces. The armed forces derserve better and so does the UK taxpayer.
urbanvermin
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 01:01 PMVery true mate. The problem is there just aren't enough wars!
wizard of oz
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:50 PMIf BAE Systems is unable to maintain growth in profits then its share price will fall, the directors will be pressured by the shareholders to cut costs in areas where growth cannot be made. BAE will have to rationalise its structure with both US and UK defence spending set to fall. The loss of the Indian Typhoon and delay in Saudi Typhoon deals is a a big blow, BAE has to focus its efforts in the new emerging countries otherwise it will fragment and slowly die.
urbanvermin
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 12:26 PMIt seems extraordinary that a company that won the contract for 2 supercarriers can be worried about its profits. Surely HMS White Elephant and HMS Money Pit will keep BAE directors in Aston Martins for years to come.
Flying bull
Thursday, February 16, 2012 at 11:01 AMI agree this is misleading in these hard times. Why not say BAE made £2 billion quid. What the hell is a profit loss. Its still a PROFIT.
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