The Royal Fleet Auxiliary (RFA) continues to play a vital role in sustaining Royal Navy operations worldwide, and the Department remains committed to ensuring that sufficient support capacity is maintained ahead of the delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships.

In the interim period, the Ministry of Defence has taken measures to mitigate any potential capability gap, including the careful management and sustainment of existing RFA replenishment vessels. In addition, the Royal Navy routinely works with allies and partners to provide mutual logistical support when operating in combined task groups, ensuring that deployed forces can be sustained effectively.

Work on RFA Resurgent is underway in yards across the UK.

Liberty Steel Dalzell is a privately-owned company. The Government has no plans to take control or purchase it. Liberty Dalzell is contracted to supply steel plate to Navantia UK for the MOD’s Fleet Solid Support ships programme. This is an independent commercial arrangement between the two companies.

Ministry of Defence (MOD) funding for the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme is provided to industry through the MOD's fixed price contract with Navantia UK (NUK). As the prime contractor, it is NUK's responsibility to deliver the FSS ships under the terms of the contract, which includes the purchase of materials and managing their supply chains accordingly.

The sourcing of steel for the FSS programme is therefore a matter for NUK, whose goal is to maximise UK steel content wherever it is technically and commercially feasible, while protecting the delivery schedule.

The current assessment of the potential impact of the raw material shortage at Liberty Steel's Dalzell plant, on the construction of the three Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships for the Royal Fleet Auxiliary, is deemed low.

The sourcing of steel for the FSS programme is a matter for the prime contractor, Navantia UK, whose goal is to maximise UK steel content wherever it is technically and commercially feasible, while protecting the delivery schedule.

The Ministry of Defence contract for 11 Lots through the Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP), with each Lot providing a suite of services to deliver end outputs as agreed through each Lot contract. An overview of the Lots and their descriptions are within the table and the image below.

CORE FMSP Lots:

Notes:

1. Start date and contract duration relate to the period of service delivery. They exclude any transition period ahead of service delivery.

2. Lot 8 was originally two lots, separating engineering management and delivery. Lots 8 and 9 were merged into a single Lot 8 before Invitation To Negotiate (ITN) release.

3. Details of the two winning bidders will be provided via a separate LIMDIS note.

4. The Leidos contract under lot 12 expires on 1 Aug 2028. The intention is to add the additional scope to the contract for the remainder of its life.

The Naval Support Integrated Global Network (NSIGN) Programme continues to progress through the Assessment Phase with the NSIGN (Submarines) Project Outline Business Case (OBC) approved April 2025 and Full Business Case approval expected in early 2026. Concept work is progressing with the NSIGN(Ships) and NSIGN (Naval Bases) Projects seeking OBC approval early and mid-2026 respectively.

The NSIGN Projects will enable the Ministry of Defence to contract for Submarine and enabling Naval Base services delivered through Clyde and Devonport in March 2026 and for Ships and wider Naval Base services from October 2028, with a parallel (and planned) extension of the Future Maritime Support Programme (FMSP) where required, for the period March 2026 to October 2028.

Successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, which is currently in the design phase, remains a priority. The acquisition of Harland & Wolff (H&W) by Navantia UK (NUK), following the administration of H&W, has provided greater certainty to the delivery of the FSS programme and protects the UK’s shipbuilding capability, and the supply chain that supports this, now and over the long-term.

The works to recapitalise the Belfast shipyard were restarted in spring following NUK’s takeover of the four H&W yards in January 2025. This investment will further strengthen UK capability, modernising the shipbuilding facilities in Belfast and leading to increased productivity and capacity.

NUK have recently started work on a new transport barge at their Methil facility in Fife. The barge will play a key role in the FSS programme, facilitating construction of the ships across multiple sites and represents an £8 million investment by the company.

Design work is progressing well and production of the first FSS ship is expected to begin in 2025, with all three vessels bolstering the Royal Fleet Auxiliary over the coming decade.

Whilst we have agreed with NUK the minimum changes to the contract necessary, the impact on the approved cost and in-service dates is still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible. On completion of this work, it will be subject to re-approval by the relevant authorities, with updates provided through official channels at the appropriate time. We are unable to comment any further on the details of the contract due to commercial sensitivities.

Successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, which is currently in the design phase, remains a priority. The acquisition of Harland & Wolff (H&W) by Navantia UK (NUK), following the administration of H&W, has provided greater certainty to the delivery of the FSS programme and protects the UK’s shipbuilding capability, and the supply chain that supports this, now and over the long-term.

The design work is progressing well and production of the first FSS ship is expected to begin later in 2025, with all three vessels bolstering the Royal Fleet Auxiliary over the coming decade.

Whilst we have agreed with NUK the minimum changes to the contract necessary, the impact on the approved cost and in-service dates is still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible. On completion of this work, it will be subject to re-approval by the relevant authorities, with updates provided through official channels at the appropriate time. We are unable to comment any further on the details of the contract due to commercial sensitivities.

Successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, which is currently in the design phase, remains a priority. The recent acquisition of Harland & Wolff (H&W) by Navantia UK, following the administration of H&W, has provided greater certainty to the delivery of the FSS programme and protects UK’s shipbuilding capability.

Construction has not yet begun, the design work is progressing well and production of the first FSS ship is expected to begin later in 2025, with all three vessels bolstering the Royal Fleet Auxiliary over the coming decade.

Successful delivery of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ship programme, which is currently in the design phase, remains a priority. The recent acquisition of Harland & Wolff (H&W) by Navantia UK (NUK), following the administration of H&W, has provided greater certainty to the delivery of the FSS programme and protects UK’s shipbuilding capability.

The works to recapitalise the Belfast shipyard have restarted since NUK’s takeover of the four H&W yards in January 2025. This investment will further strengthen UK capability, modernising the shipbuilding facilities in Belfast and leading to increased productivity and capacity.

Design work is progressing well and production of the first FSS ship is expected to begin in 2025, with all three vessels bolstering the Royal Fleet Auxiliary over the coming decade.

Following the administration and takeover of H&W, the Government has worked closely with NUK on the future of the FSS programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary, on commercial terms, to ensure the programme’s continued delivery with the least possible delay. Extensive work is being undertaken to understand the full impact on the programme.

Each of the Ships Programmes are progressing.

All of the Type 26 Ships are expected to enter service between 2028 and 2035. The five Type 31 ships are planned to be in service by the early 2030s and the three Fleet Solid Support Ships by 2032.

The Multi-Role Strike Ship programme continues to progress through the Concept Phase. The Outline Business Case is due for submission mid-2025 which will detail the schedule for future contract award milestones.

The Government has worked closely with Navantia UK on the future of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary - on commercial terms - to ensure the programme's continued delivery, with a minimum of delay.

The FSS team are working with Navantia UK to complete the contract change and we are unable to comment on the details due to commercial sensitivities. Extensive work is being undertaken to understand the full impact on the programme including the impact on the in-service dates, which is still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible.

On the current schedule, the first ship is expected to enter service by 2031 following extended first of class trials and equipment fits, however extensive work is being undertaken to understand the full impact on the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme following the recent takeover of Harland & Wolff by Navantia UK. This includes the impact on the in-service dates which are still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible.

The Government has worked closely with Navantia UK on the future of the FSS programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary - on commercial terms - to ensure the programme's continued delivery. The FSS team are working with Navantia UK to complete the detailed contract change and it would be inappropriate to comment further due to commercial sensitivities.

On the current schedule, the first ship is expected to enter service by 2031 following extended first of class trials and equipment fits, however extensive work is being undertaken to understand the full impact on the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme following the recent takeover of Harland & Wolff by Navantia UK. This includes the impact on the in-service dates which are still being assessed and will be mitigated as far as possible.

The Government has worked closely with Navantia UK on the future of the FSS programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary - on commercial terms - to ensure the programme's continued delivery. The FSS team are working with Navantia UK to complete the detailed contract change and it would be inappropriate to comment further due to commercial sensitivities.

The overall build strategy for the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) ships remains unchanged. All three ships will be assembled in the UK, with blocks manufactured in Navantia’s shipyards in Spain and in Harland and Wolff’s shipyards in the UK, retaining the overall UK workshare as originally planned.

The value of the individual contracts is commercially sensitive information. It is expected that approximately 60 per cent of the contract value will be with UK companies. The FSS ship contract will create more than 1,200 UK shipyard jobs and around 800 jobs will be sustained in the UK supply chain. There is also substantial investment being made in the UK including around £100 million into UK shipyards.

As prime contractor for the FSS Programme, Navantia UK is responsible for delivery of the contract and is in the process of letting a number of contracts to UK companies, in addition to those already let with BMT and Harland & Wolff.

The Government has worked closely with Navantia UK (Prime Contractor) on the future of the Fleet Solid Support (FSS) programme and agreed with them the minimum changes to the contract necessary - on commercial terms - to ensure its continued delivery. This includes minimising disruption to the current schedule as much as possible, including the impact on in-service dates which is still being assessed.

We are unable to comment on the details of the contract due to commercial sensitivities. The deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, safeguards the delivery of the FSS programme and secures the future of all four Harland & Wolff (H&W) shipyards in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Devon.

The overall build strategy for the FSS ships remains unchanged. All three ships will be assembled from blocks manufactured in H&W shipyards in the UK and Navantia's shipyards in Spain. Final assembly and systems integration of the ships is planned to take place in Belfast.