Henry Smith MP has welcomed the awarding of a contract to Thales UK for the Royal Navy's Crowsnest system, the third Government deal announced in the last fortnight which will see the involvement of the Crawley-based company.

Yesterday, the Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin MP, announced the £269 million deal for the Crowsnest system to protect new Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers.

Welcoming the announcement following his visit to Thales UK, Henry said;

“Great news for Crawley keeps on coming in 2017 as another new multi-million pound contract secures even more high quality employment at Thales.

“This new contract will see local skills building the technology our personnel need to stay safe in the most dangerous parts of the world.”

This deal with Lockheed Martin will see manufacturing commence on the new Crowsnest system. It will act as ‘the eyes and ears’ for the Royal Navy’s ships, providing long range air, maritime and land detection and tracking capability.

The Ministry of Defence state that Crowsnest will be fitted to the Merlin MK2 helicopters, which already perform important roles for the Royal Navy, including detecting submarines and undertaking humanitarian aid duties, most recently in helping with part of the co-ordinated response to the migrant crisis in the Mediterranean.

As part of the deal with Lockheed Martin, Thales UK has been subcontracted to provide this system, work on which will sustain 90 jobs in Crawley, out of a total of 210 across three UK sites.

The Minister for Defence Procurement, Harriett Baldwin MP, commented;

“By gaining a significant chunk of almost a billion pounds worth of contracts and protecting scores of high-skilled local jobs it is clear that Crawley is punching above its weight.

“This is in no small part due to the ambition for the town expressed by local MP Henry Smith and Conservative-run West Sussex County Council; both are tireless campaigners for jobs, apprenticeships and investment in Crawley and Sussex.”

Today’s confirmation follows MOD announcements of Thales UK’s involvement in the £271 million deal to support Britain’s world-leading Wildcat helicopters, as well as the Crawley-based company’s part in the supply chain for production of the £410 million deal to support the UK’s Atlas A400M aircraft.