Thales to provide Royal Navy with the most advanced mission systems to protect UK maritime interests globally

6 February 2020 – Thales, as part of Babcock Team 31, has been selected to deliver the digital heart of the UK’s next generation frigates. Thales will be the mission systems integrator for the Type 31 programme, delivering the combat system, communications systems and the navigation and bridge system. The T31 general purpose frigate programme will provide the UK Government with a fleet of five ships, at an average production cost of £250 million per ship.

Following a comprehensive competitive process, T31, a capable, adaptable and technology-enabled global frigate will be the UK Royal Navy’s newest class of warships, with the first ship scheduled in the water in 2023.

At its height, the programme will maximise a workforce of around 1250 highly- skilled roles in multiple locations throughout the UK, with around 150 new technical apprenticeships likely to be developed. The work is expected to support an additional 1250 roles within the wider UK supply chain.

Building on our global successes Thales is expanding its capabilities in mission systems delivery in the UK. This will generate new jobs and technical skills in Crawley, West Sussex where the new team has been established. A new naval combat management centre has also been developed to provide a space for customers, employees and end-users to train, test and see how our solutions deliver operational benefits and to continuously gain customer feedback.

“Thales has been at the forefront of innovation with the Royal Navy for over 100 years. We are immensely proud of the trusted critical solutions we provide to the Royal Navy to protect our waters. This means we can continue to expand our significant UK footprint whilst also looking to export markets.” Victor Chavez, Chief Executive of Thales in the UK.

Photo courtesy Thales