The UK Ministry of Defence announced in November that it would take back management control of its nuclear weapon facilities from the AWE consortium. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace told the UK parliament “Under the revised arrangements, AWE plc will become an arms-length body wholly owned by the MoD. It will continue to be managed by a world-leading team and a new board will be appointed by the MoD”.[i]
The 25-year contract, valued at £ 25.4 billion (US$ 33.1 billion) with AWE-ML was awarded in 1999. Following a review started in 2019, the UK Ministry of Defence concluded that AWE plc will become wholly owned by the MOD.
This means Jacobs Engineering, Lockheed Martin, and Serco will change their relationship with the UK nuclear weapons arsenal, and only Lockheed will continue to contribue to the UK’s ability to use weapons of mass destruction.
Jacobs Engineering continues to be involved in the US nuclear arsenal, through its participation in the joint venture, Mission Support and Test Services LLC (MSTS), which was awarded a contract in 2017 (now valued at $8 billion) for the Nevada National Security Site.
Lockheed Martin is involved in several nuclear weapon programmes, in addition to the role with AWE. Lockheed Martin will remain involved in the UK nuclear arsenal, as it is responsible for the construction of the Trident II (D5) nuclear missiles for both the UK and the US.[ii]
This change does mean that Serco’s role in maintaining the UK’s nuclear arsenal will also change. In it’s own announcement about the news, Serco indicated that it does expect 2020 to have the same earnings as in previous years, and that they would contribute to the smooth transition back to the UK government at the end of JUne 2021.
[Last updated: 27 January 2021][i] https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/02/uk-government-to-retake-control-of-its-atomic-weapons-management-from-industry/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+defense-news%2Fhome+%28Defense+News+-+Arc+RSS+-+Home%29
[ii] Lockheed Martin, “Trident II D5 Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM)”, Website Lockheed Martin (https://www.lockheedmartin.com/en-us/products/trident-ii-d5-fleet-ballistic-missile.html), viewed March 2020.