BAE SYSTEMS AWARDED MULTI MILLION POUND CONTRACT FOR
ADVANCED LIGHTWEIGHT TORPEDO, STING RAY MOD 1

BAE SYSTEMS has been awarded a £441m contract to supply the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force with the next generation of lightweight torpedo. This was announced today by Lord Bach, Minister for Defence Procurement as he visited the BAE SYSTEMS Underwater Systems in Waterlooville, Hampshire. The contract was signed in front of an audience of 200 employees and MoD officials who included Sir Robert Walmsley, Chief of Defence Procurement and Commodore Paul Lambert, Director Equipment Capability (Underwater Battlespace).

The current Sting Ray lightweight torpedo, developed and produced in the 1980s, is the main anti-submarine weapon carried by our surface ships and aircraft. Development of Sting Ray Mod 1 was awarded to BAE SYSTEMS in 1996 to extend the weapon's operational life. The programme has successfully achieved all of its goals with a new torpedo design which harnesses cutting edge technology to provide a level of weapon performance capable of defeating the most sophisticated submarines facing our armed forces across the world's oceans.

A key feature of the Mod 1 torpedo is its new digital homing, guidance and control systems, which through a combination of modern computer technology and advanced software algorithms extends the operational capability of Sting Ray into the complex shallow water environments in which our Navy now has to operate.

As the Prime Contractor for the Mod 1 production programme, BAE SYSTEMS will have overall responsibility for the weapon's operational performance and will draw the majority of manufacture from across British industry. The Company has also established a subcontract partnership with the Defence Munitions Depot, Gosport for the conversion and upkeep of Sting Ray to the new Mod 1 standard. Overall the programme is a true reflection of MoD's SMART Acquisition policy in exploiting industrial capability and MoD assets to provide a very cost-effective through life solution for the UK's future Lightweight Torpedo.

When Sting Ray Mod 1 is delivered into operational service in 2006 it will provide a torpedo which will not require any major maintenance activity for more than 20 years, but will be capable of further software upgrades to meet the future operational needs of the Royal Navy. Sting Ray Mod 1 also has an excellent competitive position in the international market with a number of customers already expressing strong interest in its capabilities.

Brian Phillipson, the Sea Systems Group Managing Director said "I am delighted that BAE SYSTEMS Sea Systems Group has been selected by the MoD to supply the next generation of Sting Ray torpedoes for the Royal Navy. The production order follows a remarkably successful development and trials programme which has clearly demonstrated the world-beating capabilities of the new Sting Ray - and those of our development team.

The order allows us to continue the excellent relationship we have demonstrated on Spearfish as well as Sting Ray, working in partnership with MoD staff at Beith and Gosport to consistently deliver torpedo capability to the Royal Navy. This order represents a steady workload for several years at Waterlooville, and is a testimony to the successful performance which has consistently been demonstrated by our Underwater Systems team - on time, on budget and to the right quality."