Aurora Engineering Partnership Awarded New GBP12M Contract by DE&S to Support Front-line Naval Operations

The Aurora Engineering Delivery Partnership (EDP) has been awarded a new contract by Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S). Aurora EDP is a unique partnership between QinetiQ, AtkinsRéalis and BMT and is the UK Ministry of Defence’s primary route for procuring engineering services.

This new five-year contract award will provide services to ensure that necessary systems and equipment, including maintenance and spares, are available when and where they are required to meet Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary operational demand. This will provide a vital contribution to platform availability, capability and safety.

The new contract will support DE&S Ships Domain through the Master Record Data Centre (MRDC), the Ministry of Defence's core facility for ship information configuration services for the Royal Navy and Royal Fleet Auxiliary Surface Ship Fleet.

Following a rigorous competition process run by the Aurora QinetiQ team, Babcock will continue operation of the MRDC with a core configuration team based at Babcock’s Lakeside facility in Portsmouth.  Project delivery will also be supported by key data interrogation expertise from EDP provider, Allan Webb Ltd., which also brings strong supply chain relationships to support the service.

DE&S lead for Platform Configuration Management, Cdr Matt Shirvill RN, said:
“I am really pleased to be placing this contract to provide essential configuration status accounting services to the surface fleet and the wider maritime support community. Working together as one team, DE&S Ships’ and Aurora have secured world-class engineering excellence to support and empower frontline naval operations across the globe. I am looking forward to working closely with my Babcock, Allan Webb and QinetiQ colleagues to maximise the service over the next five years, leveraging the EDP continuous improvement approach to match the dynamic demands and aspirations of the Naval Service.”

Nigel Fergusson, QinetiQ Frameworks Integrated Delivery Team Leader commented:
“This is the second major contract that we have managed on behalf of the DE&S Ship Maintenance Management team and we look forward to working closely with them and the Babcock team to ensure that the MRDC service provided to the user community is as effective possible.”

Neil Young, Babcock’s Engineering and Technology Director said:
“We are pleased to have been awarded the contract for the delivery of configuration management throughout the surface fleet. Our customers, and the mission we share, inspire us each and every day to strive for excellence. We’re by their side, enabling them to fulfil their duty, working closely with them to support their critical assets for decades and we look forward to continuing this strong relationship.”