
Watch as half a 6,900-tonne ship is inched to vast new hall
Inside the huge hall. (Image: BAE Systems) Designed for a service life of at least 25 years, the Type 26 frigates will serve in the Royal Navy surface fleet into the 2060s
BAE Systems said: "Belfast and future ships will now be consolidated under cover for the first time ensuring that work is unaffected by adverse weather."
It added: "The bow of HMS Belfast will be moved into the Janet Harvey Hall in the coming weeks, the ship will then undergo further structural and outfitting work before being floated off and moved along the Clyde to BAE Systems' Scotstoun facility for testing and trials prior to delivery to the Royal Navy."
The cutting-edge new ship build hall is named in honour of one of the many women who stepped into vital industrial roles during the Second World War.
The scale of the hall is seen as it engulfs the warship. (Image: BAE Systems) The hall has capacity for two Type 26 frigates to be constructed side-by-side, the hall measures 170 metres long and 80 metres wide, with two 100-tonne cranes and a further two 20-tonne cranes inside.
READ MORE:
He added: "The hall, which will help improve schedule performance and reduce the time between ship deliveries, forms a central part of the £300 million modernisation and digitalisation of BAE Systems' facilities in Glasgow."

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Telegraph
11 hours ago
- Telegraph
As HMS Prince of Wales cruises the Pacific, it's time to take a look at our Carrier Air
There have been two developments this month that concern the future of Royal Navy carrier-borne aviation, one negative and one positive. The negative one was the National Audit Office's report on the UK's F-35 capability. The second was the positive progress on uncrewed systems to operate from our two aircraft carriers. In the NAO report on the F-35, there are some positives. It's a good jet, 'many times more able to survive and successfully deliver attacks than previous UK aircraft.' It starts looking less positive when current capabilities are compared to various MoD targets. 'Approximately one third of the fleet was available to perform all required missions in 2024'. 'Approximately half were available to perform at least one of seven possible missions'. The current carrier strike group deployment has forced the issues with lack of engineers into the spotlight whilst the lack of global spares was rather embarrassingly exposed during the same deployment by the jet stranded in India recently. The delivery forecast is grim and costs are high. So far we have received 38 jets and spent $11bn, giving a rough figure of £289m per jet. That sounds very shocking, and indeed it is, but we should remember that the RAF's 90-odd flyable Typhoons cost us something like £35bn in today's money to acquire – a nose-bleeding £388m per jet. And they are fourth generation, whereas the F-35 is a modern fifth generation fighter. So it could be worse.


Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Boom time for Barrow as Naval orders flood in
HMS Agamemnon sits in the open dock as workers add finishing touches to the latest Astute Class submarine to roll off production lines at Barrow-in-Furness. Completion of the sixth of a seven-boat order begun in 2001 might, in years gone by, have been followed by the town's shipyard facing a contract drought and winding down. But its fortunes are now different – with a full order book for decades to come, bringing investment and prosperity to an isolated corner of Cumbria. Rising fears of global conflict mean billions of pounds of orders from the Royal Navy for shipyard owner BAE Systems. Four Dreadnought submarines will eventually replace the Vanguard class vessels that carry Britain's Trident nuclear weapons. The Government has also placed an order for up to 12 nuclear-powered Aukus attack submarines. As a result, BAE is upping its workforce at Barrow-in-Furness from 11,000 to 17,000 – on a par with the shipyard's historic peak – and is near-trebling its apprenticeship programme to 1,000. And a £220 million investment in infrastructure over the next ten years, awarded by Rishi Sunak's government, is seeing benefits with improvements to the A595, Barrow's link to the M6. Barrow's population of 67,000 has grown for the first time in nearly 40 years, with newcomers attracted by the stunning coastline and Lake District. On a recent visit accompanied by Defence Secretary John Healey, Prime Minister Keir Starmer described its renaissance as a 'blueprint for the nation'. Leading BAE's training at its £25 million submarine Academy For Skills And Knowledge, which opened in 2018, is Jim Perks. The former submarine captain said: 'We've known for years the Government's requirement for submarines is growing. We needed to increase our workforce dramatically, increase the size of the yard and improve the supply chain.' He said the company adopted a 'grow your own' approach, recruiting via the academy, which is expanding with a high-tech training hub in the Debenhams store, which closed in 2021. Perks said the hub would allow apprentices to learn techniques on simulators so they can be 'up to speed' before joining teams on real boats. Recruits are a 60:40 split of trade versus degree apprentices, and demand is high with 4,000 applicants in 2024 and 6,000 this year. While there is a tradition of generations of Barrow families working at the shipyard, Perks, who is also recruiting more women, said: 'Some of the most complex machines in the world are made here by Barrovians, but we want to look further afield too.' Carrie, 20, a trainee electrician following in her father's footsteps, said: 'I wanted a hands-on job and was always interested in engineering and carrying on the tradition.' Olivia, 19, training to be a joiner, said: 'I think it's good for the town as there's not been too much to offer around here. It's particularly helpful for young people. It's a good start in life with job security.' Local traders are starting to see an upturn after years of decline. Ashley Holroyd, 33, owner of Coffee D'Ash, opened a branch next to the hub last year having previously sold his drinks from a trailer. He now employs eight staff, and said: 'I came to Barrow in 2017 when the shops were closing and footfall was close to dead.' Pointing to the smartened-up town centre, he added that it now 'feels like a town on the up'. BAE's investment in Barrow is mirrored on the Clyde in Glasgow, where it is building eight Royal Navy Type 26 destroyers. The firm has invested £12 million in an academy – opened by Princess Anne in April – to train 300 recruits annually for the sites at Govan and Scotstoun. Referring to the threat posed by Russia, vice-admiral Sir Simon Lister, managing director of BAE's Navy Ships business, who spent over 40 years in the Royal Navy and was briefly British Naval attache in Moscow, said: 'Over 48 years in the Armed Forces and in the military and defence industry, I'd say this is the most tense and challenging time for us all.' BAE has also invested £300 million in production facilities at Glasgow to cut the time it takes to build each £1 billion destroyer by a third, from 98 months to 66. This includes opening a giant shipbuilding hall, allowing two warships to be assembled at once under cover rather than being built in sections before being joined together under scaffolding. Among apprentices at BAE's Glasgow academy is Anna, 30. She said almost 'every male member of my family' had worked in the yards or on ships. She added: 'My dad served in the Royal Navy, my grandad was in the Royal Naval Reserve and my great grandad, Edward McKnight, was a chief engineer for the Royal Navy. I'm following in my family's footsteps.'


Daily Mail
19 hours ago
- Daily Mail
BAE's AI wingman fires up Typhoon fighter jets
RAF 'Top Gun' pilots could soon have a high-tech wingman in the cockpit – with AI helping to select targets and assess threats. Defence contractor BAE Systems is overhauling its Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets. The AI is being trialled in a flight simulator at BAE's site in Warton, Lancashire, to help pilots assess 'threat information'. It is hoped the technology will be installed by the 2030s. BAE believes the Typhoon, introduced in 2003 as a partnership between Britain, Germany and Italy, can last into the 2060s. Its new technology includes a much larger control display for pilots who currently have to monitor three screens. Modifications include counter-electronic warfare measures and a helmet providing a 360-degree virtual display of the skies, projected onto the visor. Paul Smith, head of Typhoon strategy at BAE and an ex-Typhoon pilot, said: 'There's still going to be a human in control, but the AI is just helping the pilot as decision maker.' BAE has been working with Swedish firm Avioniq to develop the AI tool, called Rattlesnaq. It can map areas where there is a risk of enemy missile fire beyond a pilot's visual range, recommend a safe path and suggest targets. Typhoons are in service in the Middle East and eastern Europe, and provide rapid-response cover around the UK. Smith said: 'When threats are constantly changing, you need live, on-the-edge situational awareness to enable pilots to operate effectively. Mikael Grev, co-founder of Avioniq and a Swedish air force pilot for 17 years, said the AI 'means a single aircraft can deliver greater force-multiplying effect, defeating a wider range of threats more efficiently'. He adds: 'Among western militaries it is unique and really innovative. I thought it would be a good idea to create a decision support system that can keep track of everything.' BAE, which reports its half-year results on Wednesday, received a boost to its Typhoon business last week when the UK signed a multi-billion pound deal to sell the jets to Turkey.