UK Privatises Trident Missile Support

The UK MoD has privatised the support of its Trident missiles with the signing of a 15-year contract with the ABL Allianceconsortium.


The deal announced on 27 July will see the consortium, made up of partners AWE plc, Babcock and Lockheed Martin UK Strategic Systems (LMUKSS), providing support to Trident at the Royal Naval Armament Depot (RNAD) Coulport and the Strategic Weapon Support Building (SWSB) Faslane, both of which are part of Her Majesty's (HM) Naval Base Clyde.


The MoD says all three contractors have extensive experience of supporting the UK's independent nuclear deterrent.

AWE plc has run the Atomic Weapons Establishment under Government Owned Contractor Operated (GOCO) arrangements since 2000. It says that the new contract is 'a natural extension of their current role in supporting the nuclear warhead carried by our Trident missiles.'


In addition, Babcock already carries out major submarine maintenance at Devonport Dockyard, and already plays a major role in submarine support at HM Naval Base Clyde while LMUKSS is part of the consortium that owns AWE plc, and has an existing role in providing Strategic Weapon System support in the SWSB and at Coulport.


The MoD said: 'With their impressive track records, [we are] confident that these companies have the knowledge and experience to operate Coulport and the SWSB to the high standards we expect, and will build on the skills of the existing workforce.'