The U.K. Ministry of Defense Friday said it signed a 15-year contract valued at some $236 million with ABL Alliance to provide support of the Trident Strategic Weapon System at the Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) Coulport and the Strategic Weapon Support Building (SWSB) Faslane, both of which are part of Her Majesty’s (HM) Naval Base Clyde.
The contract is with an industrial alliance of contractors: AWE plc, Babcock International Group plc and Lockheed Martin UK Strategic Systems (LMUKSS) [LMT], known collectively as the ABL Alliance.
RNAD Coulport has provided support to the U.K.’s nuclear deterrent for more than 40 years, delivering safe and secure support to both the Polaris and Trident Strategic Weapon Systems, MoD said in a statement.
In 2008, the MOD started looking at a range of options to ensure that the work of Coulport, and associated work at the SWSB, can continue effectively in the long term, and in May 2011 it decided that the most effective way to sustain the workforce in the future was to use a private sector experienced supplier.
All three contractors have extensive experience of supporting the U.K.’s independent nuclear deterrent, gained over many years: AWE plc has successfully run the Atomic Weapons Establishment under government-owned contractor-operated (GOCO) arrangements since 2000, so this new arrangement is a natural extension of their current role in supporting the nuclear warhead carried by our Trident missiles.
In addition, Babcock carries out all the major submarine maintenance at Devonport Dockyard, and already plays a major role in submarine support at HM Naval Base Clyde; and LMUKSS is part of the consortium that owns AWE plc, and has an existing role in providing Strategic Weapon System support in the SWSB and at Coulport.
Under these arrangements 149 MoD civilian posts will transfer to ABL Alliance under the Transfer of Undertakings Protection of Employment (TUPE) Regulations (2006).
The new arrangement formally starts in January 2013.
HM Naval Base Clyde has an excellent safety record and MoD said it is determined to maintain the highest standards of safety.
The MoD will continue to own the naval base sites, including Coulport, and Naval Base Commander Clyde will retain overall responsibility for security and for the activities carried out at Coulport and the SWSB. The site will also continue to be a MoD Nuclear Authorized site, so it will be subject to regulation by the Defense Nuclear Safety Regulator, the Office of Nuclear Regulation and other regulatory bodies.