Britain’s nuclear-powered submarines, including those forming Trident, and military ships have been hit by spare part shortages and repair issues, i can reveal.
Some of the suppliers tasked with providing parts and replacement equipment to the Royal Navy recently missed their targets, with the Government rating their performance as inadequate, according to publicly available data.
As well as issues in securing supplies of cooling parts for nuclear submarines, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) faced a lack of parts for medical equipment for Navy vessels and for Army engineering equipment. Trident is the UK’s nuclear deterrent system.
The latest Government data show at least five contracts that cover providing replacement or spare parts across the military estate’s ships and submarines were considered inadequate between April and June.
This is because they failed to supply the MoD’s Defence Equipment & Support department with enough spare parts or to complete replacements on time.
Contractors blamed price increases and shortages on the market for the delays, according to official data.
Many MoD contracts analysed by i expected 98 per cent success rates for the timely delivery of parts or repairs.
Performance targets on the contracts are deliberately set at very high levels due to the importance of the maintenance of military equipment.
A defence industry source told i that supplies and repair works were necessary due to Britain’s military hardware being “quite badly aged at this point”.
“More and more repairs are required, while you’ve got a massive armed conflict in Ukraine impacting the military supply market globally.”
One underperforming contract related to Her Majesty’s Naval Base Devonport, where Babcock manages UK nuclear decommissioning and the supply and repair of cooling valves for submarines and boats. The company, one of the UK’s biggest defence firms, made £178m in profit in the 12 months to March 2023.
The Babcock contract covers repairs on marine equipment including Vanguard submarines (which form part of Trident), Trafalgar submarines (which are being replaced by the Astute class) and boats.
Babcock’s website says its facilities at Devonport “include the UK’s sole licensed site for the refitting and refuel/defuel of nuclear-powered submarines, where Trafalgar and Vanguard-Class submarines undergo major refits and upgrades”.
The firm previously faced criticism following reports it attempted to fix some parts of a Trident nuclear submarine with superglue.
A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “The UK’s submarines and ships continue to meet their tasks, deploying globally on operations, protecting national interests, and keeping us safe.”
Babcock said: “Babcock is contracted by the Ministry of Defence to provide spares and replacement equipment for a variety of naval platforms. We work closely with our customer on the effective delivery of these programmes.”
It is understood Babcock prioritises the needs and requirements of submarines as part of the contract.
‘Inadequate’ defence contracts
Valves at HMNB Devonport
A contract to supply cooling valves to submarines and ships at Devonport Dockyard was deemed inadequate for the second quarter of 2023. Both the level of spare parts and the speed of repairs were deemed unacceptable.
Ventilation at HMNB Devonport
Work to complete repairs on ventilation and air conditioning across multiple marine platforms at HMNB Devonport was listed as inadequate.
Medical equipment
A contract providing repairs and spare parts to medical support equipment for deep sea divers, to help with decompression illnesses suffered in the field failed to deliver parts. The MoD gave the company responsible a turnaround plan.
Hydraulics
Repairs to fluid-operating machinery on multiple pieces of Navy equipment were deemed to be underperforming. The contract provided supplies and spares to type 23 frigates, commando carriers and demining vessels. The contractor blamed supply chain issues.
Bridges
Work on the Army’s rapid deployable bridge programme, to help with the navigation of tough terrain, was rated inadequate due to a shortage of parts. A military source told i there was a minor delay caused by the availability of specialist components that was quickly rectified, and there are no longer any issues as part of the contract.