BAE Systems, Babcock on shortlist to build Type 31e warship

Three shipbuilding firms have been shortlisted to build the newest Royal Navy warships, Defence Minister Stuart Andrew has announced.

BAE Systems, Babcock and Atlas Elektronik UK will compete to design and manufacture five Type 31e frigates for £1.25bn.

Each group will be awarded £5m to further develop their designs.

The preferred bidder is due to be announced by the end of next year.

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) wants the first ship to be delivered in 2023.

Mr Andrew, who was onboard HMS Diamond at Portsmouth naval base for the announcement, said it was the first frigate competition the UK had run "in a generation".

"One of these designs will go on to bolster our future fleet with five new ships, creating UK jobs and ensuring our Royal Navy maintains a truly global presence in an increasingly uncertain world," he said.

The awarding of the contracts is a key milestone in the government's national shipbuilding strategy, which was launched in September 2017.

The MoD said the Type 31e programme "will move through procurement at an unprecedented pace" and start production within three years of the launch, which it added was "far quicker than similar programmes of this type".

The ships will make up the next generation of the Royal Navy fleet, along with eight Type 26 warships which will start being delivered from the mid-2020s.

The Type 26 frigates will be based in Devonport. The decision on where the Type 31e frigates will be located is yet to be made.

Meanwhile, the new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth, based in Portsmouth, has returned from four months of sea trials.

This has included test flights with the F35 fighters that will be housed onboard when it goes into service.

The Royal Navy's £3.1bn future flagship is expected to embark on its first operational deployment in 2021.