Thales Glasgow wins £169m contract to build periscopes for Royal

A £169m contract to help build the UK’s new class of nuclear deterrent submarine will support more than 150 jobs in Scotland.

Thales Glasgow is to continue its 106-year tradition of making periscopes for Royal Navy submarines and has been tasked to deliver a multi-sensor combat system mast for the Dreadnought vessels.

The periscopes – which break the surface while the boat remains below the water and allow crew to observe, communicate and navigate – will combine for the first-time visual sensors, digital radar, threat-sensing electronic warfare equipment and communications capabilities.

They will also provide improved television-quality visuals.

The firm said the contract will sustain more than 150 highly-skilled engineering and support jobs across the UK, but mainly focused at its site in Glasgow’s Govan.

Every Royal Navy submarine in service since 1917 has been fitted with a periscope or optronics mast manufactured by Thales at its site on the River Clyde.

The Dreadnought submarines will eventually replace the Vanguard-class vessels that currently carry out the Royal Navy’s continuous at sea deterrent (CASD) operations.

Thales is already on contract to build the ultra-powerful Sonar 2076 system for the Dreadnought, which means it will be providing the vessel’s “eyes and ears” behind the platform’s operational capability.