§ Dr. Julian LewisTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what his(a) current and (b) expected warship orders are for the Royal Navy by 2015; and what their scheduled completion dates are. [92894]
§ Mr. IngramThe United Kingdom has the largest programme of new warship building for decades.
Current warship orders are for:
Type 45We have ordered six Type 45 Anti-Air Warfare Destroyers within a planned class size of up to 12. The ships are due to enter service between late 2007 and the middle of the next decade.Landing Ships Dock (Auxiliary)Four Landing Ship Dock (Auxiliaries) are under construction. The first vessel is expected in service in 2004, with the last entering service in late 2005.850WLanding Platform Dock Replacement (LPDR)Two LPDRs are on order. The first is planned to enter service by July of this year. The programme for the second is still under discussion with the contractor, but the current expectation is that she will enter service by the end of next year.Hydrographic and Oceanographic Survey VesselsThe first Echo Class Survey Vessel is expected to be in service in May 2003. The second vessel is expected to be in service in December 2003.Auxiliary OilersThe two Auxiliary Oilers were accepted off contract in October 2002 and are due to enter service this spring.AstuteA first buy of Astute submarines is currently on contract. The in service date is not now expected to be before late 2006, subject to confirmation by the contractor.Offshore Patrol VesselsMOD has contracted with Vosper Thornycroft to provide three Offshore Patrol Vessels. VT will own and support the vessels and lease them to MOD. They are due to be become progressively available to the RN between February and December this year.Detailed ordering plans for the period up to 2015 remain subject to review in the normal way. However, future planned orders include:
Future Aircraft CarrierTwo vessels are planned, with in service dates of 2012 and 2015. It is expected that a contract award will be made in spring 2004.AstuteOn current plans, we intend to place orders for further Astute Submarines which we expect to enter service from the next decade onwards.Primary Casualty Receiving ShipA contract is expected to be placed around the middle of the present decade and the vessel is expected to enter service in the latter part of the decade.Future Surface Combatant (FSC)Our present planning assumption is that the first of class will be in service around the middle of the next decade.Military Afloat Reach and Sustainability (MARS)We plan to introduce a MARS capability around the turn of the decade. The characteristics of the relevant platform(s) have yet to be determined.A formal announcement of the placing of these orders will be made at the appropriate time.