More than 200 UK jobs will be supported through a new contract, procured by DE&S, to boost the Royal Navy’s warship combat systems and increase their ability to track, analyse and respond to threats in combat.

The eight-year programme, with the option to add two additional years, is dubbed RECODE (Real-time Combat System Open Data Enablers), and will sustain more than 200 highly skilled UK jobs at BAE Systems in Filton, Dorchester, New Malden, Frimley and Portsmouth. It will also create additional investment in Small Medium Enterprises (SMEs) and high-tech suppliers across the UK.

The contract, worth £285 million, has been awarded to BAE Systems to maintain and modernise vital combat management systems (CMS), and their related shared infrastructure (SI) and warship networks, on Royal Navy vessels including Type 23 frigates, Type 45 destroyers, Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and Type 26 frigates.

The CMS is the primary method for Royal Navy operators to interact with weapons and sensors. The system supports operators in their Decide and Enable functions by providing a range of tools including:

• Situation awareness
• Tactical picture compilation
• Threat evaluation and weapon assignment
• Navigation and blind pilotage
• Weapon direction and control.

Commodore Phil Game, DE&S’ Interim Director of Sense, Decide and Communicate, said: “This is an essential programme that will sustain current combat management systems on board in-service Royal Navy vessels, to enhance their capability and make them fit for the future. This new programme will ensure that at their core, the systems are evergreen, robust and flexible.

“Through our close collaborative work with industry colleagues, this contract will also help to upskill the programme’s workforce and sustain UK jobs. The improvements made will be instrumental in making the UK Royal Navy more agile and more capable in our rapidly changing global Defence environment.”

DE&S Maritime Combat Systems and Navy Command will work closely on this programme, with joint decision-making and increased communication and collaboration between both parties.

Captain Kevin Miller, Combat Systems Design Authority & Surface Ships Combat Systems Group Team Leader, Royal Navy, said: “We have a long and successful history with Naval Ships Combat Systems and RECODE represents an important next phase of our collaboration. Today’s challenging battlespace means we must adapt and evolve at pace. Agility is at the heart of the programme in three ways – equipment to maintain our capability, process so we can adapt that capability at the pace of relevance and a mindset to ensure we deliver. Those are the key facets that will enable the military advantage our crews are relying on.”

The contract builds on 13 years of collaboration established during long-running in-service programmes, with BAE Systems’ CMS having been used by the Navy for the past 25 years.

Steve Carter, Naval Ships Combat Systems Director, BAE Systems, said: “RECODE represents huge strides forward in our partnership with the Royal Navy and will help to realise warfare capability of the future. The global threat picture, advances in commercial technology and the immense volume of data available to crews means we need to become even more ambitious and far-reaching in our services and support. We are excited and privileged to secure this programme that will sit at the heart of the Navy’s ambition to be a protean force.”