Tag Archives: HMS Agamemnon

UK – Work starts on sixth Astute submarine at Barrow

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Agamemnon keel

The keel is the first part of a submarine to be built

A ceremony has been held at a Cumbrian shipyard to mark the start of work on the sixth of a fleet of seven new submarines for the Royal Navy.

The Astute-class vessel – a nuclear-powered attack submarine – is being built at BAE Systems in Barrow.

It has been officially named Agamemnon after the Greek mythological King, though it has not yet been constructed.

A keel laying ceremony took place at Devonshire Dock Hall.

Defence Equipment Minister Philip Dunne attended the ceremony and revealed the Ministry of Defence (MoD) had signed a new contract with BAE Systems.

The Barrow yard has been working on the Astute programme since 2001.

The other submarines are HMS Astute, Ambush, Artful, Audacious and Anson. The seventh will be named HMS Ajax.

Hard to detect

The keel for the first vessel – HMS Astute – was laid in January 2001 and the craft was launched in June 2007.

Mr Dunne said: “The keel-laying of Agamemnon and the handover of HMS Astute and HMS Ambush to the Royal Navy are huge milestones, reflecting significant progress in the programme.

“By ensuring the UK’s submarine programme remains affordable, this new contract will help deliver the Astute Class and secure around 5,000 jobs at BAE Systems and thousands more in over 400 suppliers across the UK submarine supply chain.”

The fleet of submarines will be based at Faslane in Scotland.

The Astute Class of vessels have greater firepower, state-of-the-art communications equipment and advanced stealth technology, making them quiet and harder to detect, according to the MoD.

Source – BBC News

Applied Integration, in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, wins contract to supply control systems for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax

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Applied Integration, in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, wins contract to supply control systems for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax

One of the Royal Navy's astute-class submarines

One of the Royal Navy’s astute-class submarines

NUCLEAR-POWERED Royal Navy attack submarines will defend the nation backed by North-East technology firm.

Applied Integration, based in Stokesley, North Yorkshire, has secured a multi-million pound deal to design and develop control systems for HMS Agamemnon and HMS Ajax.

The company, which already designs software for the HMS Audacious and HMS Anson submarines, will devote a 12-strong engineering team to a four-year programme building visual mechanisms allowing Royal Navy operators and sailors to manage conditions on the UK’s largest and most powerful fleet of submarines.

One of the Royal Navy's astute-class submarines

 

Garry Lofthouse, director, said the contract, with BAE Systems, was one of the most technical in the world, and similar to building a space shuttle.

He revealed it had helped the company create three engineering jobs and hoped to increase that number in the near future.

He said: “To be involved in the defence of the nation is amazing.

“It was a lot of hard work getting there but we’re unbelievably proud to be designing and developing the most complex build in the world here in the North-East.

“It is a massive challenge but we’ve already proved we are more than up to the job.”

Mr Lofthouse said it has achieved its five-year targets in only fine months, and the latest contract is the company’s third submarine deal with BAE.

My Raywood said: “Our first contract five years ago gave us stability and acted as the launch pad for us to grow the business, and to secure deals three times ahead of some of the UK’s largest systems manufacturers has been a major coup.

“It is a very tough and challenging programme but we have built our reputation on delivering world-class results to the Ministry of Defence and Royal Navy.

“It’s been an extremely steep learning curve but the experience we have gained means we are now in the perfect position to continue to meet the highest standards every time the bar is raised.”

“Our senior engineers are truly exceptional and our staff deserve great credit for our success.”

Source – The Northern Echo