The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has awarded contracts to four contending consortia to develop their respective bid vessels under the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme.
The contracts, each valued at £5 million (US$6.9 million), were awarded by the MOD as part of the program's Competitive Procurement Phase (CPP). The final manufacture contract will be awarded to the UK company acting either solely or as part of a group following this phase.
The MOD said the contracts will allow the contenders to develop their design proposals and the next stage will seek details of how they would fulfil the wider delivery needs of the programme. Once this phase is complete, a preferred contender will be selected and a manufacturer contract will be awarded.
The four consortia that have been awarded CPP contracts are as as follows (in alphabetical order):
The FSS ships will be built for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary and will be designed to keep the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers and amphibious task groups supplied with everything from ammunition to food as they sail on operations around the world.
