September 2011

UK carrier to receive second EMALS production shipset, Fox confirms

Dr Fox has confirmed that HMS Prince of Wales will be fitted with EMALS.

EMALS is an American produced Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System. It is currently being developed by the United States Navy and is due to be fitted on the new Ford class carriers.

EMALS Rail Launcher

There are many design advantages to having an electromagnetic system in place over the conventional steam version. EMALS is more efficient, requires less power, weighs a lot less and does not need the same manpower to maintain the system. It is thought that EMALS will be able to provide ~30% more energy output (122MJoules of energy)  and this will be able to be accurately adjusted to the dependence of the aircraft. This is likely to see the use of heavy fighters and UAVs on the same flight deck.

There was speculation that the Royal Navy would purchase EMCAT (Electromagnetic Catapult), a similar design from company Converteam UK. The UK Government had given Converteam a fund for researching, with an official decision not to be made until 2012.

A jet prepares to use EMALS to take off

Yard sees off its piece of carrier jigsaw

A&P Worker looks at his work sail down the Tyne

PART of Britain’s biggest warship has sailed from a South Tyneside yard – to become part of a giant defence jigsaw being assembled in Scotland.

Workers at A&P Tyne at Hebburn have completed a section of the massive HMS Queen Elizabeth II aircraft carrier, which is being assembled in Rosyth, Scotland.

A&P Tyne is the only North East shipyard involved in building the new aircraft carrier, which will measure 280m long by 70m wide and will eventually carry 40 aircraft.

The steel modules, which weighed a total of 3,000 tonnes when secured aboard the barge, were the culmination of three years’ work at A&P, but became the responsibility of Glasgow shipping and transportation specialist Henry Abram & Sons Ltd, the moment the mooring ropes were handed over.


Assembly of new carrier begins

Goliath Crane - Defence Minister Peter Luff sits at the "wheel"

EUROPE’S biggest crane swung into action to begin the final stages of building the first of the Royal Navy’s new aircraft carriers.

The first parts of HMS Queen Elizabeth are being put in place using a huge 223-ft tall crane, named Goliath, at Rosyth dockyard, Scotland.

August 2011

A&P Tyne completes work on aircraft carrier order

The Hebburn yard has been working on a 3,000-tonne section of the HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier which will soon be taken up to Rosyth in Fife where the ship is being assembled.

A&P won a £55m order to that ship and the smaller HMS Prince of Wales, which brought shipbuilding back to the river where the last carrier, HMS Ark Royal, was built 30 years ago. Among the workforce are some of the same men who helped build the Ark Royal in the late 1970s.

Vice Admiral George Zambellas, Deputy Commander in Chief of the Navy Fleet visits shipyard as VIP

 

Huge carrier block arrives in Rosyth

The largest section of the Navy's new aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth yet completed has safely arrived in Rosyth after being towed around Scotland. This 8,000-tonne segment – Lower Block 03 to give it its official title – of the ship was towed 600 miles around the Scottish coast from one great artery, the Clyde, to another, the Forth, during a five-day operation. It safely arrived early on Saturday evening. It took shipwrights at BAE Systems’ Govan yard two years to complete the section, which is more than 20 metres (65ft) high, 60 metres (196ft) long and 40 metres (131ft) wide. In addition to machinery spaces, it contains cabins for more than 150 members of the ship’s company and part of the vast hangar.

July 2011

Construction starts on Portsmouth’s new island 

Housing the bridge and navigation systems for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers, the forward island is fundamental to the effective command and control of the vessel. The island also includes the vessel’s long range radar, providing wide area surveillance up to 400 kilometres.

Designed with a twin island configuration, the Queen Elizabeth Class will benefit from its flying operations being separated from the running of the vessels, resulting in maximum flexibility and greater control of flight deck operations. BAE Systems will also undertake the build of the aft island, which will be responsible for all air operations and air traffic control, with production expected to start in the autumn.

Second Sea Lord and Commander in Chief Naval Home Command, Vice Admiral Charles Montgomery CBE ADC cut the first steel

 Rudder Horn prepper to be fitted at Portsmouth

One of two rudder horns pictured below.

Flight Deck update at A&P

New aircraft carrier slowly taking shape at Glasgow's BAE Systems shipyard

This 800-ton hull section is just one massive piece of the world's biggest jigsaw puzzle.Lower Block 03 took one million man hours to complete and will form part of the centre of a Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carrier. The section was built by BAE Systems on the banks of the Clyde in Glasgow. The project is so big, the Govan shipyard had to extend the doors on their work shed, as well as reinforcing the Tarmac in their yard to take the weight. When completed, the section will include the hangar deck.

The impressive structure will also house 185 cabins, each sleeping up to eight people, as well as a gym, galley area and bakery

June 2011

Converteam deliver first of two 76 tonne generators for Queen Elizabeth 

Power conversion specialist Converteam has shipped the first of two massive 75 tonne, 36 Megawatt generators designed specifically to match the electrical power requirement of the propulsion motors for the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. 

Dr Fox visits Clyde

 Two giant sections of future carrier joined

In the giant ship hall at BAE Systems’ Portsmouth facility two enormous sections of the hull of HMS Queen Elizabeth are joined.

It took 30 minutes and 26 remote-controlled hydraulic transporters to move a 3,700-tonne segment of the ship across 25 metres of the hall to link up with an already-completed section.

Together they help form Lower Block 02 – at more than 6,000 tonnes it will be nearly one tenth the displacement of the finished carrier and heavier than either a Type 42 destroyer or Type 23 frigate.

May 2011

Update in pictures at Portsmouth dockyard

 

 Northrop Grumman To Supply Bridge And Navigation Suite

Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine will build and deliver the complete INBS, including electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS-N (U.K.)) for the new aircraft carriers. The system will include navigation planning, electronic charts and radar displays, as well as a comprehensive set of sensors and software. The contract also provides for equipment integration and testing. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in 2018.

Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine has already completed the initial design phase of the contract, including change requests, and is currently designing a Navigation Light System under an option in the production contract.

Brand-Rex Blown Away by Award of New Aircraft Carrier Contract 

Brand-Rex and Capita IT Services announce a £5 million contract to provide a complete fibre communications infrastructure for the two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
The Brand-Rex fibre optic network will provide the robust infrastructure for all IP based communications requirements on the two vessels – from voice and data systems to sophisticated aircraft deployment – creating a flexible and resilient communications system capable of serving the needs of these modern warships. Brand-Rex is working with long standing partner, Capita IT Services on this contract. Capita IT Services will provide both project management and installation services. 

A&P Module Video

A video discussing the problems of moving such a large piece of metal 

April 2011

Update in pictures at Portsmouth dockyard

 

 Northrop Grumman To Supply Bridge And Navigation Suite

Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine will build and deliver the complete INBS, including electronic chart display and information system (ECDIS-N (U.K.)) for the new aircraft carriers. The system will include navigation planning, electronic charts and radar displays, as well as a comprehensive set of sensors and software. The contract also provides for equipment integration and testing. Deliveries are scheduled to be completed in 2018.

Northrop Grumman Sperry Marine has already completed the initial design phase of the contract, including change requests, and is currently designing a Navigation Light System under an option in the production contract.

Brand-Rex Blown Away by Award of New Aircraft Carrier Contract 

Brand-Rex and Capita IT Services announce a £5 million contract to provide a complete fibre communications infrastructure for the two new Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers.
The Brand-Rex fibre optic network will provide the robust infrastructure for all IP based communications requirements on the two vessels – from voice and data systems to sophisticated aircraft deployment – creating a flexible and resilient communications system capable of serving the needs of these modern warships. Brand-Rex is working with long standing partner, Capita IT Services on this contract. Capita IT Services will provide both project management and installation services. 

A&P Module Video

A video discussing the problems of moving such a large piece of metal 

March 2011

UK's biggest crane squeezes under Forth bridges 

The UK's biggest crane has passed under the Forth bridges on its way to Fife, where it will be used to build the Navy's new aircraft carriers.

It arrived in the the Firth of Forth following a 14,000-nautical-mile sea voyage to Rosyth Dockyard. The Goliath crane left its construction site in Shanghai, China, on 17 December on the deck of a specialist crane transport vessel.

First propulsion motor fitted to aircraft carrier

BAE Systems has fitted the first propulsion motor to the stern section of the first Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier at its shipyard in Govan, Scotland. The installation of the propulsion motor was followed by the installation of the first set of diesel generators, also in the stern section. The section is one of the largest and most complex sections of the carrier and will weigh in at almost 11,500 tonnes when fully outfitted.

Each Queen Elizabeth class carrier will feature two Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbines and four diesel generator sets giving a total installed power of 109MW. This power will be used for each ship’s domestic, operational and propulsion systems. The power and propulsion system includes stabilisers, shaft lines and two 33 tonne propellers.