Lewin of Greenwich Naval History & Forum

Three bids for the Royal Navy Type 31e frigate competition formally accepted by the MoD
Today the MoD announced it has agreed to fund three bids for Competitive Design Phase of the Type 31e Frigate competition.
The designs from two of the candidates are already well known; the Babcock-led ‘Team 31’ consortium with the Arrowhead 140 and the BAE Systems / Cammel Laird consortium with their Leander design. The Atlas Elektronik UK / Thyssenkrup Marine Systems bid is a new entrant to the competition, although the company says their bid has been quietly in development for some time. Each of the competitors will receive around £5 Million to fund detailed design work.
Due to the very demanding schedule, the MoD has taken the unusual step of inviting each competitor to negotiate for the combined design and build contract concurrently with the award of the Competitive Design Phase contracts. The winner will be selected and the contract awarded at the end of 2019. Defence Minister Stuart Andrew said “This is the first frigate competition the UK has run in a generation, and today we are funding three shipbuilding teams with extremely exciting concepts to continue developing their plans”
Continues - https://www.savetheroyalnavy.org/three- ... DmMJN-kV1Q
Also see - https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/type-31 ... qR_vogVwNk

A Defence Minister has told Forces News he is "confident" that the first Type 31e warship will be in the water by 2023, but stated no decision has been made on where the vessels will be based.
Continues at - https://www.forces.net/news/defence-min ... igate-2023

Well lets hope his right , and puts his money where his mouth currently is

ivorthediver wrote: ↑Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:51 pm Well lets hope his right , and puts his money where his mouth currently is

"Our" money Ivor but who is going to be i/c-in power then?

Quite Right Harry , and as you say "WHO' indeed ......trouble is the rate that "others" seem to be accelerating their build programme its a tad worrying .....yes I know its 'what' rather than numbers but even with our fleet [ and I use the term loosely ] can we man them and keep them at sea where they need to be is the question don't you think

ivorthediver wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:16 am Quite Right Harry , and as you say "WHO' indeed .....

Indeed WHO - not me Ivor - I've not been involved in this thread prior to this post

Contracts - also: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thre ... QH_RKrsXnA

Little h wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 11:44 am

ivorthediver wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 10:16 am Quite Right Harry , and as you say "WHO' indeed .....

Indeed WHO - not me Ivor - I've not been involved in this thread prior to this post

OK......... so I'm not perfect Harry , one strives but rarely succeeds

Pelican wrote: ↑Wed Dec 12, 2018 4:37 pm Contracts - also: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/thre ... QH_RKrsXnA

Thanks David , with all this great news I'm getting delighted , and confused [ ask... Harry] lets hope we continue to gain a fleet to be even prouder of , and avoid the flood of disappointments we seem to have been swimming against over the last few years ..I know..... I Know....... think positive and all our wishes will be granted [ sorry about the pun ] well it is getting nearer to Christmas now en it

Confirmation has been given on when the orders for new Type 31e Frigates and the Fleet solid Support Ships will be ordered.

Kevan Jones, MP for North Durham asked:

“To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what his Department’s latest timetables are for the orders of (a) Type 31e (first batch), and (b) Fleet Solid Support vessels.”

Stuart Andrew Assistant Whip and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence answered:

“We plan to award a contract for Type 31e by December 2019 and for the Fleet Solid Support ships in 2020.”

This comes not long after the previously suspended Type 31e programme, which could see sections of the ships built in Scotland and England, was restarted.

An MoD spokesperson said that a prior information notice has been issued to industry and a new contract notice has been issued.

“We have issued a Prior Information Notice for our new Type 31e fleet and plan to start discussions with industry next week to ensure we do not lose any momentum. There have been no changes in our plans to procure a first batch of five new Type 31e frigates to grow our Royal Navy. We still want the first ship delivered by 2023 and are confident that industry will meet the challenge of providing them for the price tag we’ve set.”

According to USNI here, an article published recently by Jane’s stated that at least two of the potential bidders had earlier regarded the terms and conditions set by the MoD as unworkable, citing both commercial aspects and intellectual property rights.

“Even if the MoD achieves its stated intention of ‘delivering’ the Type 31e lead ship in 2023, the subsequent sea trials, crew training and work-up could see entry into operational service slipping a year or two.”

From UKDJ