Midlands aerospace firm Rolls-Royce has landed a £137 million long-term service and support deal for gas turbine engines which power 27 ships in service with the Royal Navy and French, Belgian and Royal Netherlands navies.
The deals will help to secure 50 jobs at the company's Ansty factory in Coventry, where 1,000 people are employed. A similar number of jobs will also be secured at the Bristol factory.
Rolls-Royce yesterday said it will support Olympus and Tyne gas turbines for the next 12 years, when the ships they power are due to go out of service. The contract was awarded by the UK Ministry of Defence on behalf of all four navies.
The 'TotalCare' package will see Rolls-Royce take responsibility for ensuring power being available to keep ships at sea, rather than entering into individual service and overhaul contracts for each gas turbine.
Announcing the deal at Ansty, Lord Bach, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: "I am very pleased that this new contractor logistics support contract has been agreed. "These arrangements will provide long-term benefits to both industry and Ministry of Defence. Industry will be better able to plan for the long term rather than piecemeal.
"MoD benefits by making the best use of industry's expertise in the support of complex equipment with far less bureaucracy, saving money that can be better used to provide improved support elsewhere."
Saul Lanyado, Rolls-Royce president - Marine, said: "This long-term support contract will give all four navies guaranteed levels of service. It enables them to plan their budgets better."
The deal covers three Royal Navy carriers - HMS Ark Royal, HMS Illustrious and HMS Invincible - each powered by four Olympus gas turbines; nine Royal Navy Type 42 destroyers; four Type 22 frigates; seven French Navy Georges Leygues-class destroyers; three Belgian Navy Wielingen-class frigates and one Royal Netherlands L-class frigate.
In December, Rolls-Royce signed a 20-year contract with the Chilean Navy to provide repair services and technical support for five of its ships, powered by Olympus, Tyne and Spey gas turbines.
Derby-based Rolls-Royce already has long-term support contracts with the Ministry of Defence which cover propulsion support for nuclear submarines and the operation of the Vulcan naval reactor test establishment at Dounreay in Scotland. The company now has a total of 54,000 gas turbines in service worldwide
