Rolls-Royce awarded $11 bln nuclear submarine contract
LONDON
Britain's government on Jan. 24 announced a deal with engine-maker Rolls-Royce to support the Royal Navy's fleet of nuclear submarines, seen as boosting economic growth and national security.
The multi-year contract with the British company, worth 9 billion pouds ($11 billion), is expected to create more than 1,000 U.K. jobs and safeguard 4,000 more, the Labour administration headed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer said in a joint statement.
Labour has put growing the U.K. economy at the forefront of its plans since returning to power in Jul, but has yet to deliver on its pledge.
"This investment in Britain's defense will deliver a long-term boost to British business, jobs and national security," Defense Secretary John Healey said.
"We are showing defense can be an engine for growth, while also driving better value for taxpayer money."
The government said the deal results "in better value for money for the taxpayer through savings of more than 400 million pounds."
The deal comes after Britain and Germany, Europe's biggest spenders on defense, announced in October that German submarine-hunting planes would operate out of Britain under a "milestone" agreement.
Ahead of Donald Trump's inauguration, British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the new U.S. president and Vice President JD Vance are "simply right when they say that Europe needs to do more to defend its own continent."