"We are pleased with the outcome of the dialogue which has taken place over the last few days between the members of the Aircraft Carrier Alliance," BAE Systems chief executive Mike Turner said.

The Aircraft Carrier Alliance consortium comprises BAE; Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR), a subsidiary of US defence company Halliburton; French defence electronics group Thales and the British Ministry of Defence.

"KBR will not be responsible for managing the Alliance," the BAE statement said.

Negotiations over the consortium -- which would likely also comprise Britain's largest shipbuilder, VT Group, and its Scottish peer Babcock -- have delayed design work on the carriers until mid-2005, the Financial Times reported Tuesday.

The new set-up would give BAE a stronger role in the way ships are designed and manufactured, and KBR would be limited to an advisory role, the report said.

The MoD said previously that KBR was its preferred choice of project manager to oversee building of two Royal Navy aircraft carriers -- which are now due to enter service in 2012 and 2015.

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