The Defence Investment Plan must underpin a continuous flow of warship construction in British yards, Defence Minister Luke Pollard said at the rollout of HMS Active in Rosyth, as he argued that industry needs both domestic orders and export success to sustain skills and capacity.
When I asked the Minister what confidence shipbuilders could have that the plan would support long term construction of frigates and other vessels, Pollard pointed to what he described as a required “drumbeat” of production.
“Yes, we want to see a shipbuilding pipeline that is a drumbeat of ships that sustains good jobs in shipyards and dockyards up and down the country. To do that, we not only need to have a drumbeat UK orders, we need to win more exports as well. It’s both of those together.”
He said that message was one he delivers directly to prime contractors. “When I speak to Babcock, I say, invest in skills, take on apprentices, take the risk of employing the next generation of talent. Because there’s a rising defence budget, there’s more platforms coming.”
Pollard referenced recent export wins for the Arrowhead 140 design in Poland and Indonesia, alongside ongoing campaigns, describing them as evidence of wider opportunity. “Having Babcock having won orders in Poland and Indonesia at the moment, and them being part of live export campaigns. There’s huge opportunity coming, so we will be having that.”
However, he stressed that future naval growth would not be limited to additional large surface combatants. Instead, he communicated the Strategic Defence Review’s direction as centred on a more integrated force structure.
“It’s not just big crude platforms. The key part of the Navy that we’re creating is a hybrid navy. It will not only have crewed platforms, like the Type 26s and the 31s, it will have the uncrewed platforms that will sail alongside.”
Using HMS Bulldog as an example, he suggested future deployments would routinely include autonomous systems operating in concert with frigates. “When Bulldog goes to sea with the White Ensign flying, it’s likely that she’ll have autonomous platforms alongside her.”
That shift, he argued, also creates further industrial opportunities, even if not all of them resemble traditional 6,000 tonne warships.
“There are additional opportunities for shipbuilding. They might not be the 6,000 tons versions, but they’re about increasing lethality, increasing survivability, increasing deterrence that we set out in the SDR, to say actually the Royal Navy of the future will have crewed, uncrewed autonomous systems as standard.”
Pollard added that the size and design margin of ships such as the Type 31 reflected that long term intent.
“Ships like this are so big because they come with the space on board to have additional capabilities added to them, to be able to be networked together. That’s why I think our partners are choosing ships like the Type 31 for their navies, because they know it’s not just a really good platform today. It has the potential to be at the heart of a lethal network in the future.”
The Defence Investment Plan, due later this year, is expected to translate that hybrid concept and industrial ambition into specific procurement decisions.
