{"id":86620,"date":"2017-11-23T19:15:07","date_gmt":"2017-11-23T19:15:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?guid=19f54c94e17d109148cb4967eee0afe0"},"modified":"2017-11-23T19:15:07","modified_gmt":"2017-11-23T19:15:07","slug":"news-story-defence-minister-returns-to-chelmsford-to-announce-18m-contract-to-support-royal-navy-radar-systems","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/?p=86620","title":{"rendered":"News story: Defence Minister returns to Chelmsford to announce \u00a318m contract to support Royal Navy radar systems"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"govspeak\">\n<p>The contract will ensure the continued availability of the battle-winning Long Range Radar (LRR) equipment on the UK\u2019s six Type 45 Destroyers, including maintenance and repairs. The work will sustain 11 highly-skilled jobs with BAE Systems in Chelmsford, as well as four in Portsmouth.<\/p>\n<p>The announcement was particularly personal to the Defence Minister, who had her first ever work experience placement at Marconi in Chelmsford at the age of fifteen, with the expertise in radar technology from that site still evident today.<\/p>\n<p>Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">It\u2019s been great seeing the cutting-edge innovation of British industry today, especially as my first experience of British business was so close to this site. This multi-million pound contract will boost the future of both this high-tech hub and our Navy\u2019s battle-winning radars.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<figure class=\"image embedded\">\n<div class=\"img\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/assets.publishing.service.gov.uk\/government\/uploads\/system\/uploads\/image_data\/file\/69408\/CHELMGOV1.jpg\" alt=\"Visiting BAE Systems\u2019 Great Baddow site today, Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin announced a new \u00a318 million contract to support the Royal Navy\u2019s air defence fleet and sustain Chelmsford jobs.\"><\/div><figcaption>Visiting BAE Systems\u2019 Great Baddow site, Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin announced a new \u00a318 million contract. Crown Copyright.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Formerly the Marconi Research Centre and Advanced Technology Centre, the BAE site continues to be a cradle of innovation where some of the best brains in the world of electromagnetics and antennas develop new digital communications technologies. It is credited as the \u201cBirthplace of Radio\u201d after Italian inventor Guglielmo Marconi started his business in Chelmsford.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst at the site in Great Baddow, which homes BAE Systems\u2019 research and technology hub AI Labs, the Defence Minister met scientists and engineers and discussed space opportunities as well as Long Range Radar technology.<\/p>\n<p>The Long Range Radar provides the Royal Navy with a detailed air surveillance picture of the battlespace, capable of automatically detecting and tracking hundreds of separate targets simultaneously at ranges of greater than 200 miles.<\/p>\n<p>It is a key element of the Type 45 air defence capability and is also employed on the new Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers.<\/p>\n<p>Richard Smart, Director Weapons for Defence Equipment and Support, the MOD\u2019s procurement organisation, said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">The UK\u2019s Type 45 Destroyers are part of the backbone of the Royal Navy and this contract supports their primary air defence role, offering the best protection available to the ships and crew.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">This support agreement is the product of the strong skills base we have in UK Defence. It will keep Royal Navy personnel safe at sea as they defend our interests all over the world.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The new contract, which will run for the next five years, will cover support for the entire Type 45 fleet as well as one shore-based facility in Portsmouth.<\/p>\n<p>Les Gregory, Product and Training Services Director for BAE Systems said:<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<p class=\"last-child\">We are delighted to have been awarded this follow-on contract to support the Long Range Radars across the Royal Navy\u2019s Type 45 Destroyer fleet, which will also enable us to explore further growth opportunities.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Visiting BAE Systems\u2019 Great Baddow site today, Defence Minister Harriett Baldwin announced a new \u00a318 million contract to support the Royal Navy\u2019s air defence fleet and sustain Chelmsford jobs.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86620"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=86620"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86620\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=86620"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=86620"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mostafa.openonline.co.uk\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=86620"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}