Britain’s next-generation warships are being partly made in Poland, despite a promise by ministers that the project would drive a renaissance in UK shipbuilding.
Polish shipyards are constructing blocks of hull for the Type 31 frigate, it can be disclosed, with final assembly then carried out at a yard operated by the defence contractor Babcock in Rosyth, north of Edinburgh.
Babcock sources insisted that Poland was only responsible for a “very small” percentage of the work by value, with the aim of helping Warsaw prepare to build similar vessels itself.
However, the arrangement is likely to raise questions about the Government’s plans to put the Type 31 at the heart of a revitalised British shipbuilding industry.
When the competition to build the frigates was announced in 2017 as part of the country’s National Shipbuilding Strategy, the then-defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon described it as a “huge opportunity” for yards that would help to deliver a “renaissance”. He added: “We have to get back to making things.”
Admiral Lord West, a former First Sea Lord and Chief of the Naval Staff, said: “It just seems extraordinary, because we want to get as much done in this country as you possibly can and we need to build our industry out.
“I think we need to build up our shipbuilding industry, and that was one of the things they declared in the shipbuilding strategy.
“That needs lots of orders and lots of building work, and it’s no good getting the building work done elsewhere.”
It is not clear how much welding and construction work has been farmed out to Poland, a Nato member. Much of the value of a warship is in its weapons systems, radar and other sensors, propulsion, and control equipment, meaning the volume of work could still be significant even if the value is not.
Babcock won the contract to build the five Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy in 2019, with a basic production cost of £250m apiece. The ships were heralded as much cheaper and more multipurpose craft than Britain’s other new frigates, the Type 26s, which will hunt submarines and each cost £840m.
The disclosure about Poland’s involvement follows a winning bid last year led by Spanish shipbuilder Navantia to build support ships for the Royal Navy’s aircraft carrier. Much of that work is going to Spain, prompting concerns over whether Britain’s yards are losing out.
The Government insists that at least half the work for the £1.5bn support ship deal will be done in the UK.
Last year, Babcock beat Germany’s Thyssenkrupp to win a £1.4bn contract to build three frigates for the Polish Navy named Miecznik, which means Swordfish.
The ships will be built in Poland’s yards with Babcock’s design. They will feature combat equipment from Thales and anti-aircraft firepower from missile maker MBDA, which is part-owned by Britain’s BAE Systems.
PGZ, the Polish defence company overseeing the project, said at the time that the purchase would significantly increase the capabilities of the Polish Navy.
In evidence to Parliament’s Defence Committee in January, Vice Admiral Paul Marshall, who is overseeing the Type 31 purchase for the Government, insisted construction was on track and there were no “ongoing issues”.
He added: “As with any complex shipbuilding programme, we have yet to navigate some of the tricky elements.”
Naval shipbuilding policy has been through a number of changes in recent years, with the National Shipbuilding Strategy authored by industrialist Sir John Parker suggesting work be given to a wider number of UK yards in order to break the dominance of BAE Systems.
He called for a “regular drumbeat” of work to keep yards operating.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: “The assembly and integration of all Type 31 warships will take place at Rosyth and it is normal practice to source components of warships from the global supply chain.
“We understand that Babcock has contracted PGZ Poland to construct blocks for HMS Active, the second Type 31.
“This represents less than 1pc of the total value of programme build and is part of Babcock’s aim to maximise knowledge exchange to benefit both the UK’s Type 31 and Poland’s Miecznik frigate builds.”