Engineering news
The government has awarded a £269 million contract to Lockheed Martin for the Crowsnest system to protect the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.
Under the deal, Thales UK has been subcontracted to provide the system, work on which will sustain more than 200 UK jobs in Crawley, Havant and Yeovil.
Lockheed Martin, as the prime contractor for Crowsnest, will integrate the selected Thales solution on to the Merlin Mk2 helicopter fleets. This work will be supported by Leonardo Helicopters, who will modify the fleet to fit Crowsnest. The contract also includes £9 million for initial provisioning of spares to support the Crowsnest system during training and operational deployment.
The Thales solution is an updated and improved version of the Cerberus tactical sensor suite, currently in service on the Sea King Mk7 helicopter. The design is comprised of a single mechanically scanned radar head, which uses a novel system to provide 360-degree visibility from the underside of the helicopter, which then folds up to the side of the aircraft when not in operation.
Harriett Baldwin, minister for defence procurement, said: “Crowsnest will provide a vital intelligence, surveillance and tracking system for our new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers, capable of detecting any potential threats at sea.
“Backed by our rising defence budget, and our £178 billion equipment plan, Crowsnest will help keep our armed forces safe as they deploy in every ocean around the world for decades to come.”
Crowsnest will form an integral part of the Carrier Enabled Power Projection capability, which will deliver the two Queen Elizabeth aircraft carriers – the largest warships ever built for the Royal Navy – from which the UK’s new F-35 Lightning II jets will fly.