The Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon has unveiled a new model worth around £1 billion to support a growing Royal Navy fleet and sustain over a thousand British jobs.
The Common Support Model (CSM) will provide a framework for comprehensive support across the Royal Navy’s fleet of warships for decades to come in one new overarching arrangement.
The model will maintain the likes of both brand new Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers, as well as all existing warships and will be able to incorporate future ships such as the Type 26 and Type 31e.
The new arrangement will bring together separate support agreements for individual ship types under a single, more efficient and more manageable model. Worth around £1 billion, it is set to improve the performance of service providers by having them adopt a common approach across all classes of complex warships.
Ten of the 16 agreements, worth £794 million, included in the model have already been signed, with the others set to follow in the coming months.
Speaking at the Conservative Party conference in Manchester, Sir Michael said: “This new deal will support the Royal Navy as we prepare to welcome two huge new aircraft carriers, two new classes of frigates and new support ships. ‘We are growing the Royal Navy and ensuring that our warships will spend more time out at sea defending Britain’s interests.
“As threats intensify, only under the Conservatives will Britain be a global leader in defence and by investing in our armed forces through our rising defence budget we are helping keeping people safe at home while working with allies abroad.”
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