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BAE Systems has embarked on a massive recruitment drive to attract hundreds of engineers and other technical staff to its submarine business at Barrow-in-Furness
in Cumbria.
Alan Dunn, operations directions at the yard, said it required 100 engineers and shopfloor workers such as welders this year, 180 next year, and up to 1,000 over the next 10 years.
“There will be hundreds of job opportunities,” he said. “Recruitment is getting harder. Jobs might be in short supply, but we need very specific skills. It can be difficult finding them.”
The isolated position of Barrow-in-Furness in Cumbria meant recruiting engineers could prove difficult, he said. “Some people don’t see this part of the North West as a place they want to live. But once we get them here, they want to stay.”
The additional resources are required on the Astute programme, a seven-boat contract to deliver nuclear powered hunter-killer submarines to replace the Trafalgar and Swiftsure class. Engineers are also needed to work on the next-generation submarine programme, known as Successor.
The recruitment drive within the Barrow business comes as BAE has delivered the second Astute-class submarine, called Ambush, to the Royal Navy to begin contractor sea trials (CST). The first phase will aim to prove the performance of the submarine when both surfaced and dived. During this phase, the propulsion plant will be put through its paces, with speed and endurance testing of the propulsion and electrical-generation systems.
The submarine will conduct an initial dive to prove integrity of the hull and associated systems. This will be followed by deeper dives and high-speed operations.
The second phase of the CST then demonstrates combat system capability. This involves proving all the primary and secondary sensors, integration of weapons equipment and the defensive and offensive capability of the submarine.
The first-of-class vessel has recently returned to its naval base at Faslane after spending 142 days in America on its latest set of sea trials. The trials included a simulated battle against USS New Mexico, America’s Virginia-class hunter-attack submarine. Astute also
fired off four Tomahawk land
attack missiles and six Spearfish torpedoes.
Although Ambush and Astute have the same capability, Dunn said that experience gained on the programme had resulted in production efficiencies. “The installation of a particular module took 17 days on the first boat and only three days on the second boat. It proved easier second time round.”
John Hudson, managing director of BAE Systems Submarines, said building nuclear-powered submarines was complicated, and that BAE was learning from experience as the Astute project progressed. “We are getting better as our staff get more familiar with what they are doing. We are doing things in a more effective way.”
Experience gained on the Astute project was feeding into the design of Successor, he said. “We are 18 months into the Successor project and it is progressing well. We have learned a lot from Astute.”
Hudson added that it was important that the government remained committed to Successor. “We need to maintain our submarine skill sets. We cannot build submarines with robots. It requires skills and craftsmanship.”
Ambush facts
- Length: 97 metres
- Displacement: 7,400 tonnes of sea water
- Rolls-Royce nuclear propulsion means it will never need to be refuelled
- Dive endurance is limited only by the amount of food that can be stored
- It makes its own oxygen and fresh water from the ocean
- There is 110km of cabling and pipework on-board
- An optical periscope delivers images via fibre-optic cables – meaning the periscope doesn’t penetrate the hull