BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships is a wholly owned subsidiary company of

BAE Systems BAE Systems plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Aerospace industry, aerospace, military technology, military and information security company, based in London. It is the largest manufacturer in Britain as of 2017. It is ...

, specialising in

naval A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operatio ...

surface A surface, as the term is most generally used, is the outermost or uppermost layer of a physical object or space. It is the portion or region of the object that can first be perceived by an observer using the senses of sight and touch, and is ...

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and combat systems integration. One of three divisions of BAE Systems Maritime, along with

BAE Systems Submarines BAE Systems Submarines,BAE Systems Submarine Solutions was split out from BAE Systems Marine and operated as such until January 2012. It was named BAE Systems Maritime - Submarines until 2017 before it became BAE Systems Submarines. is a whol ...

and

BAE Systems Maritime – Maritime Services BAE Systems Maritime – Maritime Services is a wholly owned subsidiary company of BAE Systems, specialising in the repair and maintenance of Royal Navy vessels, as well as product development, naval training and through life support for radar, t ...

, it is the largest shipbuilding company in the United Kingdom, one of the largest shipbuilders in Europe, and one of the world's largest builders of complex warships. It was originally formed as a

joint stock A joint-stock company (JSC) is a business entity in which shares of the company's capital stock, stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their share (finance), shares (certifi ...

subsidiary on 1 July 2008, with the merger of BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions and VT Shipbuilding, creating a new firm named BVT Surface Fleet. The new firm incorporated the BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions operated

shipyard A shipyard, also called a dockyard or boatyard, is a place where ships are shipbuilding, built and repaired. These can be yachts, military vessels, cruise liners or other cargo or passenger ships. Compared to shipyards, which are sometimes m ...

s at

Scotstoun Scotstoun () is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde (and Braehead ...

and

Govan Govan ( ; Cumbric: ''Gwovan''; Scots language, Scots: ''Gouan''; Scottish Gaelic: ''Baile a' Ghobhainn'') is a district, parish, and former burgh now part of southwest Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the sout ...

on the

River Clyde The River Clyde (, ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde, in the west of Scotland. It is the eighth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the second longest in Scotland after the River Tay. It runs through the city of Glasgow. Th ...

in Glasgow and the VT Shipbuilding facilities within the

Naval Base A naval base, navy base, or military port is a military base, where warships and naval ships are docked when they have no mission at sea or need to restock. Ships may also undergo repairs. Some naval bases are temporary homes to aircraft that usu ...

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

. BAE Systems subsequently acquired VT Group's share of the joint venture on 30 October 2009 and renamed the business BAE Systems Surface Ships Ltd. On 1 January 2011, BAE Systems Surface Ships was operationally integrated with BAE Systems Submarine Solutions to form BAE Systems Maritime. On 1 January 2012, BAE Systems Surface Ships was formally restructured and rebranded as BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships and BAE Systems Maritime – Maritime Services, the former incorporating the shipbuilding operations and combat systems development and the latter in-service support.

History

Defence Industrial Strategy

The Ministry of Defence's (MOD) 2005 Defence Industrial Strategy encouraged BAE and VT Group to form a naval shipbuilding joint venture with the aim of maintaining the UK's naval shipbuilding capability in the long-term. In return, in July 2007 the MoD guaranteed the new company a certain amount of work for 15 years, or to pay penalties instead. The Terms of Business Agreement (ToBA) finally signed in July 2009 promised a minimum level of ship build and support activity of around £230 million/year to sustain a warship industry in the UK. The government could cancel the deal at any time, subject to penalties which would decline over the course of the agreement but which would have been £630m at the time of the 2010 SDSR, in lieu of the MoD's existing liability for rationalisation costs under Yellow Book rules. Explaining the rationale for the joint venture from VT Group's perspective, its CEO

Paul Lester Paul Lester is a British music journalist, author and broadcaster from Elstree, Hertfordshire. Career He began his career as a freelance journalist, for ''Melody Maker'' in the early 1990s, as well as ''City Limits'', '' 20/20'', '' Sky Maga ...

described shipbuilding as a "lumpy" business, dependent on large contracts placed at irregular intervals. Another issue was the competition between VT and BAE: "We don't want to get into a dogfight with BAE over who would be the survivor... That's what you'd be talking about at some stage." BAE and VT concluded the merger discussions in early 2008, however creation of BVT Surface Fleet was conditional on the signing of contracts for the aircraft carriers. Following the Ministry of Defence's announcement on 20 May 2008 that it intended to proceed with the manufacturing stage of the project, BAE announced its intention to finalise the joint venture arrangements with VT Group. This was completed on 11 June 2008 and, following VT Group shareholder approval on 30 June, the joint venture became operational on 1 July. Bvtsurfacefleet logo

BAE Systems and

VT Group VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...

owned 55% and 45% of the company respectively, however they had equal board representation and voting rights. In return, VT Group acquired BAE System's 50% share in their other joint venture company Flagship Training, now known as VT Flagship. BVT Surface Fleet subsumed another BAE/VT joint venture, Fleet Support Limited, a ship repair, maintenance and marine engineering company, based within

HMNB Portsmouth His Majesty's Naval Base, Portsmouth (HMNB Portsmouth) is one of three operating bases in the United Kingdom for the Royal Navy (the others being HMNB Clyde and HMNB Devonport). Portsmouth Naval Base is part of the city of Portsmouth; it is loc ...

. The new 15-year Terms of Business Agreement with the Ministry of Defence did result in some controversy however. On 30 June 2009, a BVT memo was leaked which suggested that two of the company's three shipyards could be closed following completion of ''Queen Elizabeth''-class carrier construction. In response to the leak, BVT said the memo was "worst-case scenario planning" and that it continues to invest in the future of all its yards. However a MOD spokesman said " he MODhad to look at the consequences of reduced demand for navy shipbuilding." No firm decisions will be taken until after the Scottish independence referendum in September 2014 as London has made it clear that it would not buy warships from a foreign shipyard. The preferred plan is to consolidate shipbuilding onto the Govan site and invest £300m in a new covered "frigate factory" to build the Type 26.

Locations

BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions owns one

on the

in Glasgow:

(formerly

Yarrow Shipbuilders Ltd Yarrow Shipbuilders Limited (YSL), often styled as simply Yarrows, was a major shipbuilding firm based in the Scotstoun district of Glasgow on the River Clyde. It is now part of BAE Systems Surface Ships, owned by BAE Systems, which has also o ...

) and runs the second

(formerly

Kvaerner Govan Kvaerner Govan Ltd (KGL), located at Govan in Glasgow on the River Clyde, was a shipyard subsidiary formed in 1988 when the Norwegian group Kværner Industrier purchased the Govan Shipbuilders division of the nationalised British Shipbuilders co ...

Govan Shipbuilders Govan Shipbuilders Ltd (GSL) was a British shipbuilding company based on the River Clyde at Glasgow in Scotland. It operated the former Fairfield Shipyard and took its name from the Govan area in which it was located. History The company wa ...

Upper Clyde Shipbuilders Upper Clyde Shipbuilders (UCS) was a Scottish shipbuilding consortium, created in 1968 as a result of the amalgamation of five major shipbuilders of the River Clyde. It entered liquidation, with much controversy, in 1971. That led to a " work-in ...

and Fairfields), shipyard that have a corporate heritage extending back as far as 1834. VT Shipbuilding (formerly

Vosper Thornycroft VTG (formerly VT Group) is a privately held United States defense and services company, with its origins in a former British shipbuilding group, previously known as Vosper Thornycroft. The British part of VTG was integrated into Babcock Interna ...

) owned shipbuilding facilities completed in 2003 within

and a boatyard, VT Halmatic, in

Portchester Portchester is a village in the borough of Fareham in Hampshire, England. It is northwest of Portsmouth and around 18 miles east of Southampton on the A27 road. Its population according to the 2011 United Kingdom census was 17,789. Name Portc ...

. These facilities were transferred to BVT Surface Fleet, although the VT Halmatic yard was subsequently sold to Trafalgar Wharf, with the Halmatic Small Boats Centre of Excellence moving to a new facility in Portsmouth Naval Base. BAE Systems Surface Fleet Solutions also operated an additional project management centre at

Filton Filton is a town and civil parish in South Gloucestershire, England, north of Bristol. Along with nearby Patchway and Bradley Stoke, Filton forms part of the Bristol urban area and has become an overflow settlement for the city. Filton has la ...

in Bristol, situated close to key stakeholders at MoD Abbey Wood, which was transferred to BVT. The

Shipyard at

Barrow-in-Furness Barrow-in-Furness is a port town and civil parish (as just "Barrow") in the Westmorland and Furness district of Cumbria, England. Historic counties of England, Historically in the county of Lancashire, it was incorporated as a municipal borou ...

was not included in the joint venture, although since January 2011 Submarines and Surface Ships were operationally integrated under BAE Systems Maritime.

VT Group exit

At the time of BVT's creation, VT Group was expected to eventually sell its minority share to BAE Systems through a

put option In finance, a put or put option is a derivative instrument in financial markets that gives the holder (i.e. the purchaser of the put option) the right to sell an asset (the ''underlying''), at a specified price (the ''strike''), by (or on) a ...

, but not within three years. However, on 28 January 2009 VT Group announced its intention to sell its share. VT Group's put option valued its share at a minimum of £380 million subject to conditions; however it received £346 million after various payments to BAE. In addition, VT Group agreed to pay £43 million compensation to BVT for cost overruns on contracts with Trinidad & Tobago and Oman that BVT had inherited from VT Shipbuilding. VT Group's net proceeds from the sale of its share in BVT to BAE Systems were therefore £303 million.

Products and services

Aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships

BAE Systems Maritime is undertaking a majority of the workload for the two aircraft carriers, the first of which was floated off in July 2014 and is now in commission. As part of the

Aircraft Carrier Alliance The Aircraft Carrier Alliance is a partnership of BAE Systems, Babcock International, Thales Group and the Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom), Ministry of Defence (which acts as both partner and client), together with Rosyth Dockyard, to build ...

Thales Thales of Miletus ( ; ; ) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek Pre-Socratic philosophy, pre-Socratic Philosophy, philosopher from Miletus in Ionia, Asia Minor. Thales was one of the Seven Sages of Greece, Seven Sages, founding figure ...

and Babcock were also involved in the project. The company's shipyards also constructed large amphibious assault ships, including the ''Ocean''-class LPH, the ''Albion''-class LPD and the Bay-class LSD(A)s.

Destroyers

BAE's three shipyards all built sections of the

Type 45 destroyer The Type 45 destroyer, also known as the D or ''Daring'' class, is a class of six guided-missile destroyers built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy in the early 21st century. The class is primarily designed for anti-aircraft and anti-missile ...

, which started as a collaboration between BAE and VT Group. , , , , and have all entered service with the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

. The first of class entered service in May 2009. In 2007 BAE produced a concept for a UXV Combatant based on a destroyer hull for the operation of unmanned land, air and sea systems.

Frigates and corvettes

BAE Systems Maritime inherited the £400 million ''Khareef''-class corvette project from VT Group, which will see three ships delivered to the

Royal Navy of Oman The Royal Navy of Oman (), abbreviated RNO, is the maritime component of the Royal Armed Forces of the Sultanate of Oman. Given its long coastline and strategic location along the Indian Ocean, as well as being close to the Strait of Hormuz, ...

in 2013–14. BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships' yards have also delivered the following in the recent past: * s to the

Royal Brunei Navy The Royal Brunei Navy (RBN), natively known as (TLDB) is the naval force of Brunei. It is a small but relatively well-equipped military force whose main responsibility is to conduct search and rescue missions, and to deter and defend the Bru ...

(

Indonesian Navy The Indonesian Navy (, TNI-AL) is the Navy, naval branch of the Indonesian National Armed Forces. It was founded on 10 September 1945 and has a role to patrol Indonesia's lengthy coastline, to enforce and patrol the territorial waters and Exclus ...

from 2013) * s to the

* for the

Royal Malaysian Navy The Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN, ; Jawi alphabet, Jawi: ) is the naval arm of the Malaysian Armed Forces. RMN is the main agency responsible for the country's maritime surveillance and defence operations. RMN's area of operation consists of 603,2 ...

Design work is currently underway on the

Type 26 frigate The Type 26 frigate, also known as City-class frigate, is a ship class, class of frigates and destroyers being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built for the Australian and Canadian navies. The programme, know ...

project for the Royal Navy, as part of the wider

Global Combat Ship The Type 26 frigate, also known as City-class frigate, is a class of frigates and destroyers being built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy, with variants also being built for the Australian and Canadian navies. The programme, known as the Glo ...

programme, which will eventually replace the Type 23 frigates currently in service. Construction of the first of class, HMS Glasgow, started on 20 July 2017 with first steel being cut in the Govan shipyard.

Offshore patrol vessels and fast attack craft

VT Shipbuilding was responsible for the construction of four s for the Royal Navy, with through-life maintenance the ongoing responsibility of BAE Systems Maritime; initially the company leased them to the UK

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

until the MoD found the money to buy them. The company completed three OPVs based on the Rivers for the

Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force The Trinidad and Tobago Defence Force (TTDF) is the military organisation responsible for the defence of the twin-island Republic of Trinidad and Tobago. It consists of the Trinidad and Tobago Regiment, the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, the T ...

in 2010. After the contract was cancelled by the Trinidad & Tobago government in September 2010, these vessels were subsequently contracted for delivery to the

Brazilian Navy The Brazilian Navy () is the navy, naval service branch of the Brazilian Armed Forces, responsible for conducting naval warfare, naval operations. The navy was involved in War of Independence of Brazil#Naval action, Brazil's war of independence ...

in January 2012 as the ''Amazonas'' class. A

technology transfer Technology transfer (TT), also called transfer of technology (TOT), is the process of transferring (disseminating) technology from the person or organization that owns or holds it to another person or organization, in an attempt to transform invent ...

agreement with Bangkok Dock to build a similar OPV, , for the

Royal Thai Navy The Royal Thai Navy (Abbreviation, Abrv: RTN, ทร.; , ) is the Navy, naval warfare force of Thailand. Established in 1906, it was modernised by the Admiral Prince Abhakara Kiartiwongse (1880–1923) who is known as the father of the Royal N ...

was agreed in June 2009. In 2014 the Royal Navy company signed a £348m deal for three improved Rivers to keep the company busy until Type 26 construction began using money that would have been paid to BAE anyway under the ToBA. BAE Systems Maritime also has a technology transfer agreement in place with Elefsis Shipyards for the construction of the for the

Hellenic Navy The Hellenic Navy (HN; , abbreviated ΠΝ) is the Navy, naval force of Greece, part of the Hellenic Armed Forces. The modern Greek navy historically hails from the naval forces of various Aegean Islands, which fought in the Greek War of Independ ...

, which are based on the ''Barzan'' (Vita)-class FACs currently in service with the

Qatar Armed Forces The Qatar Armed Forces () are the military forces of the State of Qatar. Since 2015, Qatar has implemented mandatory military conscription with an average of 2,000 graduates per year. As of 2010, Qatar's defence expenditures added up to a tot ...

; itself based upon

's patrol craft built for the

and the

Kenya Navy The Kenya Navy is the naval branch of the Kenya Defence Forces. It is headquartered in Mombasa. Kenya Navy has two major bases for its fleet with it being headquartered in Mtongwe Naval Base, Mombasa and Manda Bay (part of Lamu Archipelag ...

Auxiliaries

BAE was initially part of a consortium bidding for the Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS) programme, which was to see up to six replenishment at sea tankers built for the

Royal Fleet Auxiliary The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) is a naval auxiliary fleet owned by the UK's Ministry of Defence. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service and provides logistical and operational support to the Royal Navy and Royal Marines. The RF ...

. BAE was partnered with BMT Defence Services and

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering Hanwha Ocean Co., Ltd. (), formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME; ), is one of the "Big Three" shipbuilders of South Korea, along with Hyundai and Samsung. History On 21 February 2011, the A. P. Moller-Maersk ...

– the eventual winners – for the project, but subsequently withdrew from the consortium before the final round. BAE Systems had previously been prime contractor on the programme for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary.

Halmatic small boats

BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships' capabilities also extend to

Mine countermeasures vessel A mine countermeasures vessel or MCMV is a type of naval ship designed for the location of and destruction of naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Sim ...

s (The in service with the Royal Navy,

Royal Saudi Navy The Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), or Royal Saudi Navy, is the maritime arm of the Saudi Arabian Armed Forces and one of the five service branches of the Ministry of Defense of Saudi Arabia. Its primary role is monitoring and defending Sa ...

and

Estonian Navy The Estonian Navy () are the unified naval forces among the Estonian Defence Forces. With only six commissioned ships and displacement well under 10,000 tonnes, the Estonian navy is one of the smallest navies in the world. Its ship prefix is EM ...

), prime contracting on

hydrographic survey Hydrographic survey is the science of measurement and description of features which affect maritime navigation, marine construction, dredging, offshore wind farms, offshore oil exploration and drilling and related activities. Surveys may als ...

vessels such as the , ''Scott'' class and the design and production of the smaller Halmatic range of boats such as

landing craft Landing craft are small and medium seagoing watercraft, such as boats and barges, used to convey a landing force (infantry and vehicles) from the sea to the shore during an amphibious assault. The term excludes landing ships, which are larger. ...

rigid-hulled inflatable boat A rigid inflatable boat (RIB), also rigid-hull inflatable boat or rigid-hulled inflatable boat (RHIB), is a lightweight but high-performance and high-capacity boat constructed with a rigid hull (watercraft), hull bottom joined to side-forming a ...

s and rigid buoyant boats. These products include the Lifespan Patrol Vessel,

Rigid Raider The Rigid Raider (RRC) is a series of fast raiding and assault craft made by RTK Marine, a subsidiary of Halmatic, part of BAE Systems Surface Ships. They are primarily in service with two branches of the British Armed Forces: The Royal Navy (i ...

, Mk 6 Assault Boat and Combat Support Boat types currently in service with the

British Armed Forces The British Armed Forces are the unified military, military forces responsible for the defence of the United Kingdom, its British Overseas Territories, Overseas Territories and the Crown Dependencies. They also promote the UK's wider interests ...

and other Navies, such as the Jordanian Royal Naval Force and the

Republic of Singapore Navy The Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) is the Naval warfare, maritime Military branch, service branch of the Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) responsible for defending the country against any seaborne threats and as a guarantor of its sea lines of ...

Support services

BAE Systems Maritime's Support services include

supply chain management In commerce, supply chain management (SCM) deals with a system of procurement (purchasing raw materials/components), operations management, logistics and marketing channels, through which raw materials can be developed into finished produc ...

and logistics support. The BAE subsidiary

provides through life maintenance, ship repair and

drydock A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...

refit services for naval and merchant vessels. Past projects have included the reactivation of the ''Upholder'' class, now reactivated as the ''Victoria''-class submarines for the

Royal Canadian Navy The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN; , ''MRC'') is the Navy, naval force of Canada. The navy is one of three environmental commands within the Canadian Armed Forces. As of February 2024, the RCN operates 12 s, 12 s, 4 s, 4 s, 8 s, and several auxiliary ...

. It has also refitted two ex-Royal Navy Type 22 (Batch 2) frigates for the

Romanian Naval Forces The Romanian Naval Forces () is the principal naval branch of the Romanian Armed Forces and operates in the Black Sea and on the Danube. It traces its history back to 1860. History The Romanian Navy was founded in 1860 as a river flotilla on ...

and a similar programme for the

Chilean Navy The Chilean Navy () is the naval warfare service branch of the Chilean Armed Forces. It is under the Ministry of National Defense (Chile), Ministry of National Defense. Its headquarters are at Edificio Armada de Chile, Valparaiso. History Ori ...

involving the refurbishment of three ex-Royal Navy

Type 23 frigate The Type 23 frigate or Duke class is a class of frigates built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. The ships are named after British Dukes, thus leading to the class being commonly known as the Duke class. The first Type 23, , was commission ...

s. In July 2009, BVT Surface Fleet established the Gulf Logistics and Naval Support joint venture with

Abu Dhabi Abu Dhabi is the capital city of the United Arab Emirates. The city is the seat of the Abu Dhabi Central Capital District, the capital city of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, and the UAE's List of cities in the United Arab Emirates, second-most popu ...

Shipbuilding, to provide in-region maritime support services for CCASG member states. BAE Systems Surface Ships Scotstoun

References

External links

BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships' website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bae Systems Surface Ships BAE Systems subsidiaries and divisions Defence companies of the United Kingdom Shipbuilding companies of England 2008 establishments in England Companies based in Portsmouth Manufacturing companies based in Glasgow River Clyde British Shipbuilders