Small comfort for BAE in new arms order

The Ministry of Defence was today set to award defence giant BAE contracts worth more than

Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth was preparing to tell the House of Commons that he had decided to go ahead with a scheme to build next-generation nuclear submarines Astute Boat 5 and 6 for the Royal Navy, in a deal worth more than
£300 million.

Ainsworth gave BAE the go-ahead to order long-lead items like steel for the frame of the submarines.

The Ministry of Defence also signed a £127 million deal with BAE to draw up a plan to build ships that will replace the Royal Navy's existing Type 22 and Type 23 "frigate" fleets.

The contract was set to protect up to 4000 jobs at yards in Scotland.