Portal partners
Navantia UK and FSS: new opening for the British shipbuilding industry
Author:Mariusz Dasiewicz
The British ship industry is facing a breakthrough. The three-ship logistics support program for the Royal Navy, implemented by Navantia UK, is not just an answer to the needs of the British war fleet. It is also a strategic investment to rebuild production capacity in the British Isles and restore the importance of local shipyards in the state defence system.
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Industrial Renaissance in the British Isles
Fleet Solid Support (FSS), implemented by Navantia UK in cooperation with Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), aims not only to build for Royal Navys necessary support units, but also rebuilding British capabilities to build ships. As both parties stressed, Carl Greener, Director of the FSS programme For Navantia UK and Alex du Pré from DE&S, investments in shipbuilding infrastructure are intended to bring lasting benefits to the whole sector.
The program will create three new units for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary to replace the ageing RFA Fort Victoria and close the link in the Carrier Strike Group operating chain.
FSS implementation phase and Australian experience
The FSS's logistics support program is on schedule – the preliminary design review phase has already been completed, and a critical design review is planned later this year. The completion of this phase will be the commencement of the construction of a prototype unit, planned for the fourth quarter of this year.
With project progress, the scale of infrastructure investments is also increasing. Navantia UK decided to increase its spending on the modernisation of British shipyards – from the original £78 million to over £100 million. As noted by Carl Greener, the modernisation of the Belfast and Appledore plants is not only intended to ensure the effective implementation of the FSS, but also to build sustainable industrial capacity necessary to implement future contracts for the British Navy.
In this context, it is worth recalling that the similar Navantia model has already successfully implemented in Australia – while building destroyers of type Hobart and landing ships of type Canberra. In both cases, the Spanish company was not only a supplier of the project, but became an industrial partner supporting the development of national production and training capacity. This enabled Australia not only to acquire modern units, but also to build foundations for its own frigate and support ships. Experience with Navantia Antipodes brings to British soil today – this time adapting its know-how to the needs of an ally from the north of Europe.
Rehabilitation of shipyards – jobs and competences
The construction of three logistics support ships under the FSS will generate around 1,100 new jobs in the British shipyards themselves – of which around 800 are allocated to the Belfast plant and another 300 to Appledore. Importantly, it is only part of the wider economic effect: it is estimated that another 800 people can find employment in the domestic supply chain – including component manufacturers, on-board systems, steel structures and service companies.
Carl Greener, director of the Navantia UK programme, points to the particular intergenerational dimension of this investment. After decades of stagnation in the British ship industry, young people are starting to work today in the same facilities where their grandparents were once employed – only that the generation of their parents was already outside the shipbuilding industry, due to its regression after the end of the Cold War.
This means that FSS is becoming not only an infrastructure project, but also a process of rebuilding the lost competence continuity, both technological and social. In the coming years, Navantii’s investments are intended to serve not only the implementation of the current contract, but also to prepare the shipyards in Belfast and Appledore to accept subsequent orders. This, in turn, will allow for stable employment and reconstruction of the industrial identity of regions where ship traditions were once one of the main pillars of local communities.
It should be stressed that Navantii UK's activity goes beyond the standard framework of shipbuilding contracts. The company declares its readiness to fulfil the role of technological and industrial mentor – supporting the reconstruction of British competence in the construction of warships. This is an example of modern alliance solidarity, where the Spanish state shipbuilding company does not compete, but shares its potential – understanding that strong Royal Navy is in the interests of the entire NATO alliance. This is somewhat similar to the approach of Spanish SENER or German TKMS, which in their export projects increasingly focus on long-term cooperation rather than a one-time contract.
Long-term strategy and cooperation – not competition
Navantia UK consistently builds its image as a partner rather than a competitor, stressing that its aim is to jointly strengthen the British shipbuilding industry. The company wants to actively participate in the Ministry of Defence's future tenders – both for logistics support units and battleships – supporting the development of local competences and production.
As Carl Greener points out, the UK's current shipbuilding infrastructure is not fully capable of handling all the planned reinforcement programmes. Therefore, Navantia UK advocates a model of industrial cooperation that will increase the country's production capacity and in the long term maintain sovereign capabilities in the construction of warships.
Modernity and technology transfer
Within the framework of the logistics support programme, Navantia UK implements an integrated industrial cooperation model based on close cooperation with engineering teams from Spain. Thanks to the involvement of specialists from the native shipyard of Navantii, including the facilities in Cadiz and Ferrol, it is possible to transfer knowledge efficiently, including modern construction organization standards, steel cutting and welding automation methods, supply chain management and integration of weapons and specialized equipment.
Spanish company employees actively support British teams at Appledore shipyards and Belfast, where modernisation and preparatory work is carried out. Their presence allows not only to optimize industrial processes, but also to accelerate the implementation of the FSS schedule, increase the accuracy of the hull blocks and improve the production efficiency of both plants.
Such technological synergies fall within the long-term objective of Navantia UK, which is to transform British shipyards into modern competence centres capable of independently executing future contracts for the Royal Navy and exporting technology to third markets.
Support for Royal Navy carriers
As underlined by Alex du Pré of Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S), the FSS logistics support ship building program is of fundamental operational importance for British naval forces. The new Royal Fleet Auxiliary ships will be able to carry out a Replenishment At Sea (RAS), supporting operational continuity for Royal Navy ship teams.
The key role of these units will be to support two aircraft carriers of the type Queen Elizabeth – HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales – operating under the British Carrier Strike Group (CSG). These ships, although impressive in terms of combat and air capabilities, are totally dependent on logistical support in operational areas away from the home ports.
Currently, after the withdrawal of some of the older auxiliary units, this ability remains incomplete. Du Pré points out that new FSS ships will close the existing operational gap, restoring the Royal Navy to full autonomy in maintaining combat readiness for aircraft groups during long-term naval operations. It is a necessary element not only from the point of view of tactics, but also from the geopolitical point of view – enabling expedition operations in remote areas of the world, according to the doctrine Global Britain.
The future of the British shipbuilding industry
The program to build logistics support ships under the FSS program is not only a response to the urgent operational needs of the Royal Navy and the Royal Fleet Auxiliary. It is also a turning point in the process of rebuilding British industrial capacity in the design, integration and execution of ship contracts at strategic level.
Carl Greener, director of the Navantia UK programme, emphasises that this initiative is long-term and goes far beyond the current project: "It's only the beginning" He points out. Parallel to the construction of the units, there is a technological expansion of the shipyards in Belfast and Appledore, development of human resources competences, the implementation of modern production management methods and the preparation of the ground for participation in the Ministry of Defence's subsequent tenders.
The aim is not only to maintain employment in a project, but to build a sustainable competitive industrial capacity capable of carrying out the entire order portfolio – from auxiliary units to future escort and patrol vessels. Thanks to the synergy of British and Spanish industrial resources, Navantia UK aspires to play the role of a full-fledged partner of the Royal Navy in the sovereign development of the United Kingdom Navy.
