David Brown Santasalo confirms role in next generation Type 26 warship
David Brown Santasalo has been awarded a prestigious demonstration and manufacturing contract for BAE Systems’ Type 26 Global Combat Ship, the largest single order in the engineering firm’s 150 year history.
In an announcement published on Wednesday 5th August 2015, BAE Systems confirmed that David Brown Santasalo will be the supplier of main reduction gearboxes specifically designed by David Brown Santasalo’s dedicated defence engineering team to propel the ship using the quietest, most reliable and efficient technology to optimise the performance of this future addition to the Royal Navy’s fleet.
In addition, David Brown Santasalo will design and manufacture a load test rig and the associated infrastructure, which will perform a key role in the new assembly and test facility currently being built at the Park Works site in Huddersfield. In order to increase case machining capability, a new case boring facility has also been built to house a new, David Brown Santasalo supplied, Toshiba case borer. The infrastructure enhancements provide state of the art marine gearing manufacturing, assembly and test facilities.
Geoff Searle, Type 26 Global Combat Ship Programme Director at BAE Systems, said:
“It is fantastic to see the progression on the Type 26 programme placing these key contracts. Our partners and suppliers play a key role in working together to further develop the detailed design of the ship’s systems and equipment to enable us to deliver highly capable, affordable and supportable Type 26 ships for the Royal Navy. It is really exciting to have these suppliers on board and we look forward to working closely with them as the programme continues to progress.”
David Scott, Defence Business Director, comments:
“Our specialist defence engineering and manufacturing team continue to work in collaboration with our partners at BAE Systems on the demonstration and manufacturing phase of the Type 26 main reduction gearbox. The application of David Brown Santasalo’s latest generation of gearing technology will have a key role in optimising the performance and reliability of this mission critical warship.”
Steve Watson, Managing Director, explains:
“This latest contract is testament to our ongoing investment in high integrity engineering and proven manufacturing capability in the UK, and cements the reputation of David Brown Santasalo as an innovative provider of gearing systems for critical applications in industries such as defence, oil and gas and power generation.
“As a market-leader in the design and manufacture of complex and bespoke gear systems, we continue to invest in world-class facilities, engineering expertise and manufacturing skills in Huddersfield and at key locations around the world, delivering the best geared products and services to our global customer base.”
This latest contract follows the contract awarded in 2013 to design and develop the main transmission for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The gearboxes for the first three ships will be delivered fully tested to BAE Systems in Glasgow in 2017, 2018 and 2019.