A special purpose Signal Intelligence ship for the Swedish navy is to be built by Poland's Nauta Shiprepair Yard, based in Gdynia, Poland.
Saab, which signed a contract with the Swedish Defense Material Administration for the vessel earlier this month, said it has contracted the Polish company to build the ship platform. Once finished, it sail to Sweden for the outfitting of signals intelligence systems and sea acceptance trials.
According to Saab, its contract Nauta is a result of a 2016 Memorandum of Understanding between Saab and Polska Grupa Zbrojeniowa, Nauta's parent company.
"I am very pleased how we have turned the initial intentions in the MoU into a tangible business with PGZ," Gunnar Wieslander, head of Saab's Kockums business area, said in a press release.
"Special Purpose Ships of this kind require both high availability and reliability. In Nauta we have found a partner who can contribute in delivering a modern solution to our customer."
The contract originally awarded to Saab was for three years and worth nearly $83 million.
Top admiral leaked Canada shipbuilding secrets: police
Ottawa (AFP) April 26, 2017 –
The second in command of Canada's military leaked cabinet secrets related to a navy shipbuilding contract, police say in a court document unsealed Wednesday.
Vice-Admiral Mark Norman was relieved of his duty in January following an investigation, but little was said at the time about the reasons for the move.
In to the affidavit used to obtain a search warrant of Norman's home, police say he had provided sensitive government information to a local shipyard.
In the 97-page court document, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) accuse him and another unnamed official of breach of trust, as well as two violations of the Security of Information Act.
No charges have been made and the allegations have not been tested in court. Norman has denied any wrongdoing.
The heavily-redacted court document includes expletive-laden emails from Norman to Spencer Fraser, head of Federal Fleet shipyards in Quebec.
Federal Fleet had been selected by the previous Tory government to provide the navy with an interim supply ship.
In the emails, Norman appears worried that the project will be delayed over concerns raised by rival shipyards about the lack of competition in awarding the contract.
He also describes how the project was viewed by the incoming Liberal administration.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's Liberals put the project on hold when they came to power in 2015, but eventually decided to proceed with it.
Norman in one email notes that the leaks — which came to light in a late 2015 local news article — infuriated the new Liberal government.
The prime minister's office "is having kittens over references to explicit cabinet discussions in (the) article," Norman wrote in an email to his shipyard contact, included in the court document.
Norman served in the Canadian military for 36 years and was appointed vice chief last year, after spending four years in command at the Royal Canadian Navy.
Raytheon awarded contract to activate first Zumwalt-class destroyer
Raytheon has been awarded a $111.3 million contract for engineering services on the U.S. Navy's new Zumwalt-class destroyer. The work will include activation services and testing of the ship's equipment.
The contract has options that could eventually expand the program to $490.2 million. The work will take place in districts across the country, including Portsmouth, R.I., Tewksbury, Mas … read more
