Design work begins on Royal Navy’s Type 26 AWHS

Babcock has commenced work on the design and supply of the Air Weapons Handling System (AWHS) intended for integration into the UK Royal Navy’s new Type 26 destroyers.

As part of the UK Type 26 Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme, Babcock will design, produce, trial and manage the deployment of the AWHS system on 13 destroyers, in addition to offering durable support functions.

Capable of handling and stowing all air weapons in a flexible stowage arrangement, the AWHS’ handling system facilitates the positive control and shift of munitions from their stowages to selected weapon preparation units before being transferred onto aircraft or into torpedo launch systems.

Acting as a vital system responsible for offering critical airborne defence capability to the destroyer development programme, the key features of the Babcock design include a weapon handling system to stow and un-stow all weapon types separately from one another and in any required sequence.

Further, the system facilitates desired level of operator automation, from mechanised assistance to fully automated operation, while bringing down the manual handling requirement for weapons handling operations, thus complying with the T26 GCS requisite to trim down operational manning.

Babcock would integrate intelligent design and material selection to build the system to assure quieter operation compared to existing operational solutions as well as being flexible to non-contact underwater explosive shock loads, continuing system operation following such an event.

Aimed at replacing the Royal Navy’s Type-23 Duke-class, construction on 13 Type-26 vessels is scheduled to commence in 2016, with the first one scheduled for service by 2020.

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