Rolls-Royce wins U.K., U.S. contracts

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LONDON, Oct. 10 (UPI) -- Rolls-Royce has signed contracts with Britain's Ministry of Defense and the U.S. Department of Defense worth more than $1.6 billion.

Under the first agreement, Rolls-Royce will deliver nuclear reactor cores for Britain's submarine fleet. The second agreement, worth $103.3 million, is for maintenance and support of its F405 engines, which are used on the U.S. Navy's T-45 training aircraft.

Included in the $1.6 billion contract with Britain, the company will, in addition to maintaining and operating its facility for manufacture reactor cores for the British navy, complete a phased rebuilding of the plant to support future Ministry of Defense needs.

"This is excellent news that demonstrates the high level of trust the Ministry of Defense has in both our technology and the expertise of our highly skilled workforce," said Jason Smith, Rolls-Royce's president, Submarines, and chief operating officer of Nuclear business. "This new facility will deploy advanced manufacturing techniques to enhance our world leading nuclear manufacturing capability."

Under the award from the U.S. Defense Department, administered by the Naval Air Systems Command, Rolls-Royce will provide inventory control, integrated logistics support and required engineering for both the F405 engine and the aircraft gas turbine starting system on T-45 trainers.

More than 200 of the planes at four principle U.S. Naval Air Stations are covered under the contract.

"Our MissionCare contract with the U.S. Navy is one of our most successful partnerships and we take great pride in supporting the training of new aviators for the Navy and Marine Corp," said Paul Craig, Rolls-Royce's president of Defense Services said. "We look forward to another successful year, working in partnership with our customer to maximize engine availability for training missions."