BAE Systems Wins £285m Royal Navy Warship Contract

BAE Systems has scooped a £285 million deal to modernise combat management systems (CMS) on 20 Royal Navy ships.

As per the firm’s press statement yesterday (Tuesday), the RECODE update programme will span eight years and will take in a range of vessels including Queen Elizabeth-Class aircraft carriers, Type 45 destroyers and Type 23 and Type 26 frigates. 

It said the deal struck with the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MoD) will see the company adopt “a new collaborative working philosophy with DE&S Maritime Combat Systems and Navy Command which will mean closer working, joint decision-making and increased communication and collaboration.”

The new contract is expected to safeguard 200-plus jobs across a range of BAE Systems’ sites as well as boosting additional supply-chain investment.

The firm’s Naval Ships Combat Systems Director Steve Carter commented: “RECODE represents a huge stride forward in our partnership with the Royal Navy and will help to realise warfare capability of the future.”

And  Interim Director of Sense, Decide and Communicate at Defence Equipment & Support said the deal would help make the Royal Navy “more agile and more capable,” adding: “This new programme will take on proactive management of obsolescence, ensuring that at its core it is evergreen, robust and flexible.”

Captain Kevin Miller of the Royal Navy’s Combat Systems Design Authority observed: “Today’s challenging landscape means we must adapt and evolve at pace.

“Agility is at the heart of the programme in three ways – equipment to maintain our capability, process so we can adapt that capability at the pace of relevance and a mindset to ensure we deliver.”

• You can read more details on the BAE Systems website