Enjoy Discounted Exercise Equipment From Leading Sales Outlets
SEARCH IT

CHANNELS
Encyclopedia Astronautica
SERVICES
 
Spacer Homebase
French company leading contender to build British warships: report
LONDON (AFP) Aug 22, 2004
The struggling French company Alstom is one of five candidates to manage the construction of two new aircraft carriers for Britain's Royal Navy, a newspaper reported Sunday.

Alstom faced bankruptcy last year and was only saved by intervention by the French government.

The Sunday Times says it had been expected that only the British Amec company and the American firm Kellogg Brown and Root would be contenders for the contract to build the hulls but lobbying from shipbuilders meant the list was extended to five, including Alstom and the British companies VT Group and BAE Systems.

BAE Systems was chosen in 2003 with the French firm Thales to build the ships, with BAE named as prime contractor to run the entire programme.

But disagreement over costs have led to a series of changes with BAE losing its role of prime contractor to build the ships, the paper says.

The defence minstry will head what the Sunday Times calls "a broad alliance" of companies and a separate "physical integrator" will manage construction of the hulls.

The paper said that ministry officials were impressed by Alstom's construction of the 150,000 tonne luxury cruise liner Queen Mary II, showing its expertise in large-hull construction.

Although the carriers would be smaller, at 65,000 tonnes, they would have the same propulsion system. They would come into service in 2012 and 2015.

In July it was announced that BAE and Thales would be given a further eight months to agree financing of the programme which experts expect to cost nearer four billion pounds (7.27 billion dollars) than the planned 2.9 billion pounds (5.27 billion dollars).

All rights reserved. Copyright 2003 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Quick Links
SpaceWar
Search SpaceWar
Subscribe To SpaceWar Express

SpaceWar Search Engine
SUBSCRIBE TO THE SPACEWAR NEWSLETTER
SubscribeUnsubscribe
  

WAR.WIRE
  • Merz says Germany to play 'decisive role' in US-NATO weapons deal for Ukraine
  • Elon Musk's xAI inks Pentagon deal for contentious Grok chatbot
  • Paramilitary attack kills 48 in central Sudan village: war monitor
  • Ukraine's Zelensky proposes new PM, defence minister in major reshuffle
  • Drone attacks target Iraq airport and oil field: Kurd forces
  • Ukraine's Zelensky proposes PM as new defence minister
  • Iran says no nuclear talks if US insists it stop enrichment
  • One killed as Iraqi Kurds protest power cuts
  • Iran says 'no specific date' for US nuclear talks
  • Sweden mulls calling up 70-year-old officers for military service
    SPACEDAILY NEWS
     Feb 11, 2005
  • NASA Observations Help Determine Titan Wind Speeds
  • Cassini Spacecraft Witnesses Saturn's Blues
  • US Orientation Engine Fails On ISS
  • NASA Names Two Future Space Shuttle Crews
  • Simulations Show How Growing Black Holes Regulate Galaxy Formation
  • In The Stars: Odd Stars, Odder Planets
  • Natural Climate Change May Be Larger Than Commonly Thought
  • Earth Gets A Warm Feeling All Over
  • Satamatics Flying At Over 50,000 Terminals
  • Digital Angel To Expand OuterLink Subsidiary's Flight Tracking System
  • LockMart Delivers First Modernized GPS Satellite To USAF For May Launch
  • World's Fastest Oscillating Nanomachine Holds Promise For Quantum Computing
  • Carnegie Mellon's Red Team Seeks $2 Million Robot Racing Prize
  • Kionix Ships The World's Smallest High-Performance Tri-Axis Accelerometer
  • Northrop Grumman/Raytheon Team To Compete For GOES-R System
  • Blue Planet: The Fading Songs Of Whales
  • New Cameras Turn Night Into Day
  • North Korea Suspends Talks, Says It Will Build More Nuclear Bombs
  • Analysis: How Super Is The Superpower?
  • Walker's World: Why Rice Should Thank Zarqawi
  • NATO Agrees Expansion Of Afghan Force
  • North Korea Probably Bluffing Over Nuclear Threat: Australia
  • US Options Seen Limited Against Nuclear-Armed North Korea
  • Six Iraqi Policemen Killed, US Helicopters Fire Missiles To End Siege
  • Germany And Malaysia Urge Peace In Tsunami-Ravaged Aceh
  • Task Of Collecting Indonesia's Tsunami Dead Will Take Six Months: Red Cross
  • EU Brings Forward Preferential Trade Scheme For Developing Countries
  • Cambodia's Former Forestry Monitor Blasts World Bank Over Logging
  • Thales Posts Lower Sales In 2004, Missing Own Target
  • Rolls-Royce Profits Rise; Orders At Record Levels

  • The contents herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2002 - SpaceDaily. AFP Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement