A defence firm has won a £1.8bn contract to maintain the Royal Navy’s fleet of ships and submarines over the next 15 years.
Thales said the deal with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) will support more than 450 highly skilled jobs across the UK, including creating more than 100 positions at its manufacturing site by the River Clyde in Glasgow.
The Maritime Sensor Enhancement Team contract will sharpen the focus on equipment availability, predicting problems – through AI innovations and data management – rather than reacting when they emerge.
By investing in new dockland facilities, AI, data analysis tools, and skills, it is hoped the turn around times of repairs will reduce, which will maximise the days the navy is ready to deploy ships and submarines at sea.
The contract will also support sonar – the ability to hear underneath water – masts, periscopes and electronic warfare equipment that enable the navy to detect and target potential threats.
Image: The Thales base in Glasgow. Pic: Thales
Announcing the contract on Friday, Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said: “In a time of global instability, it is imperative we minimise the time our ships and submarines are out for maintenance.
“This is another partnership with Thales UK and our outstanding UK defence sector that not only boosts national security but provides a boost to local communities and helps fuel economic growth.”
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Around 300 UK jobs from a previous Thales support contract will be sustained, and a further 150 science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) jobs and apprenticeships will be created across Faslane, Glasgow, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Stockport, Somerset, Sussex and Bristol.
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In July last year, Thales Glasgow was awarded a £169m contract to build the periscopes for the Royal Navy’s new Dreadnought vessels.
The Clyde base is one of the world’s most advanced naval manufacturing sites and has designed and built periscopes for every Royal Navy submarine since 1917.
Alex Cresswell, CEO of Thales in the UK, said: “Thales is delighted to strengthen our century-long partnership with the Royal Navy, and support its vital role in defending the UK and keeping the world’s critical sea lanes open.
“This £1.8bn contract with Thales will help keep more Royal Navy ships at sea for longer, by harnessing the latest developments in artificial intelligence, data analysis and improved dockland facilities.”
Labour’s largest union donor, Unite, has voted to suspend Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner over her role in the Birmingham bin strike row.
Members of the trade union, one of the UK’s largest, also “overwhelmingly” voted to “re-examine its relationship” with Labour over the issue.
They said Ms Rayner, who is also housing, communities and local government secretary, Birmingham Council’s leader, John Cotton, and other Labour councillors had been suspended for “bringing the union into disrepute”.
There was confusion over Ms Rayner’s membership of Unite, with her office having said she was no longer a member and resigned months ago and therefore could not be suspended.
But Unite said she was registered as a member. Parliament’s latest register of interests had her down as a member in May.
The union said an emergency motion was put to members at its policy conference in Brighton on Friday.
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Unite is one of the Labour Party’s largest union donors, donating £414,610 in the first quarter of 2025 – the highest amount in that period by a union, company or individual.
The union condemned Birmingham’s Labour council and the government for “attacking the bin workers”.
Mountains of rubbish have been piling up in the city since January after workers first went on strike over changes to their pay, with all-out strike action starting in March. An agreement has still not been made.
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Rat catcher tackling Birmingham’s bins problem
Ms Rayner and the councillors had their membership suspended for “effectively firing and rehiring the workers, who are striking over pay cuts of up to £8,000”, the union added.
‘Missing in action’
General secretary Sharon Graham told Sky News on Saturday morning: “Angela Rayner, who has the power to solve this dispute, has been missing in action, has not been involved, is refusing to come to the table.”
She had earlier said: “Unite is crystal clear, it will call out bad employers regardless of the colour of their rosette.
“Angela Rayner has had every opportunity to intervene and resolve this dispute but has instead backed a rogue council that has peddled lies and smeared its workers fighting huge pay cuts.
“The disgraceful actions of the government and a so-called Labour council, is essentially fire and rehire and makes a joke of the Employment Relations Act promises.
“People up and down the country are asking whose side is the Labour government on and coming up with the answer not workers.”
Image: Piles of rubbish built up around Birmingham because of the strike over pay
Sir Keir Starmer’s spokesman said the government’s “priority is and always has been the residents of Birmingham”.
He said the decision by Unite workers to go on strike had “caused disruption” to the city.
“We’ve worked to clean up streets and remain in close contact with the council […] as we support its recovery,” he added.
A total of 800 Unite delegates voted on the motion.
Binance co-founder CZ has dismissed a Bloomberg report linking him to the Trump-backed USD1 stablecoin, threatening legal action over alleged defamation.