TWO MAIN CONTRACTORS were bidders for the prestigious task of building in the UK a new 55,000t aircraft carrier for the Royal Navy. BAE Systems and Thales submitted designs for the carrier (CVF) that will be at the heart of the UK's future force projection capability (FPC). The contract called for the design, engineering, build and through-life support for two carriers.

It is a massive undertaking and will mean jobs in shipyards throughout the country. These islands have been for so long the victims of under investment and indifference from governments and industry that there is no longer a yard capable of building a 50,000t carrier. Consequently the work will be distributed among several yards. The vessel will be constructed in three sections or superblocks in the case of BAE Systems, and final assembly will take place at another yard.

BAE Systems have signed co-operation agreements with Swan Hunter, Vosper Thorneycroft, Babcock BES and BAE Systems' Sea Systems Group in Barrow-in-Furness and on the Clyde. This will be the first time major UK shipbuilders have worked together to produce a multi-yard build strategy and an integrated approach to deliver a programme of this nature.

Thales have teamed up with other major players in the shipbuilding industry but have not signed agreements. Certain elements are common to both ships, namely the aircraft to be operated from it and associated systems. Alex Dorrian, CEO of Thales plc commented, "We are in the business of building warships and know the market and we want to stress that the CVF will be 100 per cent UK design and build. There is no question of looking to foreign yards, we have yards here and that is where we will build the carrier for the Royal Navy." "You have to remember," remarked Peter Robinson of Thales, "that this ship will be as long as the Houses of Parliament and there is no single yard in this country capable of making the whole ship. This method of construction is quite normal, all the major cruise liners are made in sections and later assembled in another yard."

Eight UK companies have shown interest in competing for the Thales superblock sections, they are: BAE Systems Marine, Babcock BES, Harland & Wolff, Heerema, KBR Caledonian, McNulty Offshore, Swan Hunter and Vosper Thorneycroft, all famous names and all with the necessary expertise required for the project. Sections for CVF01 and CVF02 will be constructed at the same facility and the complexity of the block will be matched to the shipbuilders' capabilities, say Thales. This is cost-effective when compared with a total build by one contractor. Each block will be larger than a Type 45 destroyer and will be moved by sea to a final assembly site, a construction method not used in the UK previously.

Both designs took full advantage of integrated full electric propulsion (IFEP) developed by Alstom for Thales, and by Rolls-Royce for BAE Systems that allows the ship's electrical generators to be dispersed throughout the vessel, giving improved survivability. Because the nature of the CVF is clearly laid out in the brief, the two designs had obvious similarities. Thales opted for a twin-island configuration, while BAE Systems went for a single island. The twin-island complex was to have an interchangeable facility for operational survivability by physical key ship and flying-control functions.

Thales also stated that the twin-island design improved the air wake for approaching aircraft. The company also adopted a novel extended centreline runway option that could have been used on occasions when it was necessary for a STOVL combat aircraft to carry increased payloads. Aircraft have to be able to take off quickly and both designs had two parallel runways in operation so that pairs of aircraft could be launched in quick succession and one would not have to circle the carrier waiting to be joined by the other. Inside the Thales CVF the hangar deck was large enough to accommodate, and be capable of servicing, all embarked aircraft, including helicopters.

At the end of September 2002 the MoD announced that the next generation RN defence aircraft would be the short take-off and vertical-landing (STOVL) variant of the Lockheed Martin F-35 joint strike fighter. With that news both companies finalised their designs to show a carrier embarked with STOVL F-35s and a ski-jump to facilitate aircraft launching.

However, each design also showed that once the main hull had been built it could be adapted for future requirements. Before the main landing deck is laid the necessary systems for steam-catapult launches and arrester-wire landings will be incorporated, so a later rebuild becomes easier and less costly. US trials are in progress for the Royal Navy and BAE Systems of the Maritime Surveillance Aircraft, the successor to the Fairey Gannet AEW and the current Sea King AEW.2/7. Frontrunners include the fixed-wing Advanced E-2 Hawkeye, Merlin helicopter or the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor.

The CVF will be in service for 50 years so the requirements may alter to accommodate conventional aircraft operations. In such a case the CVF would return to dock to have the top taken off during a major refit. A new flight deck would be fitted with catapults, arrester gear and angled flight deck all in place. Command centres also will alter and these will have to be incorporated into the initial build.

The ship's normal complement will be 600 and when embarked with aircraft an additional 1,400 personnel will be on board. Ordnance is at the heart of the carrier, BAE Systems placing a great deal of emphasis on this area. Peter Fish, Head of Aviation for CVF said, "The CVF will carry 40 JSF aircraft and be able to operate the widest range of aircraft. As we are multi-role and will work with all the services, we can adapt and also carry Chinook and Apache helicopters. The Merlin and the new JSF are expected to be in service for 30 years, so the design will have had to have taken all these factors into account. We have a very strong case for the CVF."

An aircraft carrier's role has altered over recent years, its primary role is to support aircraft operating from its decks. It must have the capability to deploy and operate aircraft effectively overseas without host-nation support in a hostile environment. It is expected that the first steel will be cut in 2005, the superblocks completed by 2008 and assembly will take place in 2009. The following year JSF becomes available and in 2012 CVF01 will be delivered, followed by CVF02 in 2015. The entire programme is to a fixed-price contract; the acquisition budget is £2.5bn with through-life support of £6.5bn, the latter subject to review because of the length of the ship's life.

There will be about 10,000 jobs created in the UK from the present through to build and support of the CVF. The programme will revitalise the UK shipbuilding industry and bring employment to depressed areas and leave the industry in a far better state than it is at present.

BAE wins at a price On 31 January 2003, the board of BAE Systems gathered to discuss the next stage of the CVF programme. On the previous day an announcement had been made that the contract to build a next generation carrier would be given to BAE Systems as the prime contractor but that design work was to be shared with Thales Naval in the UK.

The French government has a 32 per cent stake in Thales and the UK government has stated that 30 per cent of the value of the £2.8bn contract will go to Thales. To quote Lord Bach, the defence procurement minister, "Éthe programme should be seen as an alliance between the MoD and the two companies." The award of the contract to BAE Systems is essential to save the company from partial if not total collapse but it has come at a price. Falling share prices and problems with the Astute and Nimrod MRA.4 programmes, make it likely that both Sir Richard Evans and Michael Turner, chairman and chief executive respectively, will have resigned by the end of February when the annual results are due to be published.

As noted, BAE Systems has progressed its CVF to quite advanced design - Thales has only a concept. BAE Systems has signed up its partners whereas Thales has only an agreement with its proposed partners. Whatever happens next it will be full speed ahead with design work before the first metal is cut in three years' time. What will emerge is a combined Thales-BAE Systems CVF with the best bits of each incorporated into the whole. It is known that the Royal Navy preferred the Thales CVF, so if a compromise has to be reached - and Britain is good at this - so be it! However, if Evans and Turner go, it will require a tough leader to steer BAE Systems through the next few years.