British shipbuilder Babcock to help beef up Ukraine’s navy

LONDON – Ukraine is on course to rebuild the capabilities of its navy with the help of a possible deal with British warship builder and support-services company Babcock International.

Babcock signed what was described as a tripartite memorandum of implementation (MoI) with the Ukraine ministry of defense and the British government during a visit to the Eastern European country by the Royal Navy Type 45 destroyer HMS Defender and high-ranking British officials, including the head of the navy and the procurement minister.

The British signed an initial agreement with the Ukrainians last October to help revitalize naval capabilities hit by the Russian takeover of Crimea.

The new memorandum falls short of a deal actually being struck by the two sides, but a company spokesman in London said the signing maintained the momentum of discussions and was an important next step.

Babcock’s ship construction pedigree includes building five new Type 31 frigates for the Royal Navy.

The company was also part of the alliance which assembled the Royal Nay’s two new Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

The company has an extensive training business, including work in the naval sector.

A carrier strike group led by HMS Queen Elizabeth is currently in the Eastern Mediterranean on its way to the Far East, in what is its first operational deployment.

Few details of what might be included in the wide-ranging agreement between the Ukraine and Britain are being made available at this time.

In a statement released by Babcock, the company said the program includes the “enhancement of capabilities on existing naval platforms, the delivery of new platforms, including fast attack missile craft, a modern frigate capability, shipborne armaments and the training of naval personnel.”

Babcock recently revealed Greece was a target for a possible sale of the its new Type 31 frigate and it’s likely Ukraine could be added to the list of possible export opportunities being pursued by the company.

The company spokesman declined to discuss whether the Type 31 was part of the British offer.

The company said part of the plan also involves working together to regenerate Ukrainian shipyards.

Speculation when the initial deal was first announced last year suggested the Ukrainians were discussing purchasing eight missile boats , with at least the first two vessels, maybe more, being built in U.K. shipyards.

One option being considered was an updated version of a 56 m patrol boat already sold to Oman by the British sometime ago, Ukrainian media previously reported.

At the time, local media reported president Volodymyr Zelensky as saying the proposal was being supported by U.K. government funding to the tune of £1.25 billion, or $1.7 billion.

That’s partly borne out by a statement by Babcock chief executive David Lockwood who was on HMS Defender for the signing.

“Our strengthened relationship with the U.K. government has been instrumental in underpinning this significant agreement which is supported by U.K. export finance and we continue to work with them on a number of international opportunities,” said Lockwood.

“We are very proud to support Ukraine with their Naval Capabilities Enhancement Program. This marks the beginning of a new international relationship for Babcock, bringing together our new ship capability, our infrastructure and support capability and our strong relationship with the U.K. government,” he said.

Defense procurement minister Jeremy Quin said conclusion of the deal would be a win for the shipbuilding industries of both nations.

“I am delighted that British and Ukrainian industry will work together on these projects, which will provide world-leading capabilities and provide opportunities for both our nations to boost our shipbuilding enterprises”, said Quin.

“The U.K. and Ukraine have a close defense relationship, and we continue to strengthen this partnership to help deter shared threats,” he said.

Babcock will be supported by several other companies with a strong U.K. presence, including missile maker MBDA, sensor builder Thales, and project management consultancy Royal Haskoning DHV.

Andrew Chuter is the United Kingdom correspondent for Defense News.

伦敦——乌克兰有望通过与英国军舰建造和支持服务公司巴布科克国际公司达成协议，重建其海军能力。

在皇家海军 45 型驱逐舰“捍卫者”号和包括海军司令、采购部长在内的英国高级官员访问东欧国家期间，巴布科克与乌克兰国防部和英国政府签署了一份被描述为三方实施备忘录 (MoI)。

去年十月，英国与乌克兰签署了一项初步协议，旨在帮助乌克兰重振因俄罗斯吞并克里米亚而遭受重创的海军能力。

这份新的备忘录并未真正促成双方达成协议，但该公司伦敦发言人表示，签署这份备忘录保持了谈判的势头，是重要的一步。

巴布科克造船厂的辉煌历史包括为英国皇家海军建造五艘新型 31 型护卫舰。

该公司也是皇家海军两艘新型伊丽莎白女王级航空母舰组装联盟的成员之一。

该公司拥有广泛的培训业务，包括海军领域的培训工作。

由英国皇家海军“伊丽莎白女王”号航母率领的航母打击群目前正在东地中海，前往远东地区，这是该打击群的首次作战部署。

目前，关于乌克兰和英国之间可能达成的广泛协议的具体内容，鲜有细节公布。

巴布科克公司在一份声明中表示，该计划包括“增强现有海军平台的能力，交付新平台，包括快速攻击导弹艇、现代化护卫舰能力、舰载武器以及海军人员培训”。

巴布科克公司最近透露，希腊是其新型 31 型护卫舰的潜在出售目标国之一，而乌克兰也可能被列入该公司正在寻求的潜在出口机会名单中。

该公司发言人拒绝透露31型坦克是否是英国报价的一部分。

该公司表示，该计划的一部分还包括共同努力振兴乌克兰造船厂。

去年首次宣布该交易时，外界猜测乌克兰方面正在讨论购买八艘导弹艇，其中至少前两艘（甚至更多）将在英国造船厂建造。

据乌克兰媒体此前报道，正在考虑的方案之一是采用英国此前出售给阿曼的56米巡逻艇的升级版。

当时，当地媒体报道称，总统弗拉基米尔·泽连斯基表示，该提案得到了英国政府12.5亿英镑（约合17亿美元）的资金支持。

巴布科克首席执行官大卫·洛克伍德在签约仪式上乘坐“捍卫者”号军舰发表的声明部分证实了这一点。

洛克伍德表示：“我们与英国政府加强的关系对这项重要协议的达成起到了关键作用，该协议得到了英国出口融资的支持，我们将继续与他们合作，共同把握许多国际机遇。”

“我们非常荣幸能够支持乌克兰的海军能力提升计划。这标志着巴布科克公司开启了新的国际合作关系，将我们的新型舰艇能力、基础设施和支持能力以及与英国政府的牢固关系结合起来，”他说道。

国防采购部长杰里米·奎因表示，该协议的达成对两国造船业来说都是双赢。

奎因表示：“我很高兴英国和乌克兰的工业界将共同开展这些项目，这将提供世界领先的能力，并为我们两国的造船企业提供发展机遇。”

他说：“英国和乌克兰有着密切的防务关系，我们将继续加强这种伙伴关系，以帮助遏制共同的威胁。”

巴布科克将得到其他几家在英国拥有强大影响力的公司的支持，包括导弹制造商 MBDA、传感器制造商泰雷兹和项目管理咨询公司皇家哈斯康宁 DHV。

Andrew Chuter 是《防务新闻》的英国记者。