AEI Cables lands £10m QE Class Aircraft Carrier contract for defence cables

AEI Cables lands £10m QE Class Aircraft Carrier contract for defence cables

AEI Cables has  announced of a major naval cable supply order worth £10m to design, manufacture and deliver a state-of-the-art range of naval power, instrumentation and communications wires and cables for the Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carrier programme.

Coinciding with its 175th birthday, the company celebrated this latest cable order, alongside partner, BAE Systems Maritime. The contract was signed for the second aircraft carrier, HMS Prince of Wales, on 4th September 2012.

The cables delivery schedule is ongoing over the next 30 months and includes supply of over three million metres of cable and wiring to supply power, lighting and data communications to the vessels.

At 284m long, the two QE Class warships are the largest ever to enter service with the Royal Navy at three times the size of the current Invincible Aircraft Carriers. The power generated on board each day is enough to power a large town or 300,000 kettles.

AEI Cables is already a renowned supplier of cable and wiring products to Naval Fleets – supplying the new Type 45 Anti Air Warfare Destroyer programme for the Royal Navy to prime contractor BAE Systems, including control cables, weapons cables and medium voltage propulsion cables.

This latest order specifies cables to Defence Standard 02-526 (NES526) and 02-527 (NES527) in various core and screen configurations, as well as cables to Defence Standard 61-12 Part 25 and Part 27; and Wires to Defence Standard 61-12 Part 18.

Clive Sharp, AEI CEO, said, ‘With vessels of this importance, the complexity of the wiring and cabling means there is no margin for error. The order is testimony to the company’s core technical skills, designing as well as manufacturing quality cable and complements other major naval contract wins for the company. All our team are proud to contribute to the construction of these historic aircraft carriers.’

Graphic impression of the Royal Navy Queen Elizabeth Class Aircraft Carriers © All rights reserved. Freshfield Marketing  Communications’ photostream for the Russian and Indian mining sector.