BAE Systems made the Queen Elizabeth Class carriers the most capable yet

As HMS Prince of Wales prepared for her departure on operational training and sea trials, another major milestone for the Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers was achieved, thanks to the herculean efforts of the UK Missions Systems Enterprise, including the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and the wider industry who support them.

 

The recent successful installation of HMS Prince of Wales’ innovative Shared Infrastructure (SI) networks and an integrated facility to trial systems (known as a sandbox) is testament to British engineering and innovation; effectively delivering a secure private cloud on warships.

 

New agile approaches to installation, integration, assurance and trials have enabled the rapid insertion of scalable computing technology and an accompanying sandbox, allowing the Royal Navy to host, trial and deploy new mission capabilities on one single, reliable digital platform.

From prototype to delivery, the path to achieving an operational deployment with a capable Shared Infrastructure has been challenging. Over the last 18 months, teams across BAE Systems, the Royal Navy, DE&S and industry have not only delivered two large-scale, complex upgrade programmes, but have done it against the challenging backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

In a testament to the significance of this work, the successful efforts of all involved across the Enterprise were recognised through a recent MinDP Acquisition Award for the DE&S Shared Infrastructure Team and a BAE Systems Chairman’s Award.

 

Also installed in her sister ship, HMS Queen Elizabeth, the technology and collaboration endeavour will continue as Shared Infrastructure is rolled out to other ships involved in Carrier Strike Group, such as the Type 23 Frigates and Type 45 Destroyers.

Reflecting on the recent HMS Prince of Wales achievement, Commodore Kevin Noakes Royal Navy, of DE&S Head of Maritime Combat Systems, commented, “A global, modern and ready Royal Navy continues to require warships capable of dealing with the full gamut of future threats.  The latest app hosting capability afforded by the open architecture of MoD’s Shared Infrastructure enables HMS Prince of Wales to be agile in its operation and adaptable in configuration, fully exploiting the force multipliers of autonomy and artificial intelligence in its delivery of operations around the world.”

 

Amelia Gould, Naval Ships Combat Systems Director, BAE Systems, added, “We are incredibly proud of the end-to-end role we play in the delivery of the UK’s sovereign complex warship capability and its critical enabling technologies. This is a great example of the skill and dedication demonstrated by each and every member of the UK Mission Systems Enterprise. Working hand-in-glove to overcome immense challenges to deliver state-of-the-art capability to our nation’s defense through an unprecedented pandemic has made us stronger, more agile and better positioned to support the Royal Navy’s future evolution requirements.”