Works start on new RR facility to support Canadian surface combatant program

Last week, ground was broken on a new expansion to Rolls-Royce’s Centre of Excellence for Naval Handling equipment in Peterborough, Ontario.

The company welcomed Minister Maryam Monsef, MP for Peterborough-Kawartha, Dave Smith, Member of the Provincial Parliament, and Peterborough Mayor Diane Therrien to break ground on the new facility.

“We are pleased to welcome Minister Monsef, MPP Smith and Mayor Therrien to mark this significant milestone in developing our infrastructure which will support the Canadian Surface Combatant program,” Bruce Lennie, Rolls-Royce, Vice President, Business Development & Government Affairs, commented on the occasion.

As informed, design and manufacture of the Rolls-Royce Mission Bay Handling System (MBHS) will take place inside the new facility expansion.

The MBHS is an adaptable and flexible feature of the Global Combat Ship design, selected for the Canadian Surface Combatant (CSC), Australian Hunter class and UK Type 26 programs.

The Canadian Federal Government has already selected the Global Combat Ship design for the Royal Canadian Navy’s 15 new CSC ships.

Apart from the new infrastructure investment, Rolls-Royce has already expanded its supply chain in Canada to meet the significant domestic and international export opportunities created by the Global Combat Ship program.

“We look forward to growing our business in country, further developing our supply chain and enhancing our contributions to the Canadian economy,” Lennie added.

Rolls-Royce’s MBHS has the capability to launch and recover naval vehicles and move containerised packages without the aid of a dockside crane.

The multi-functional system can also be easily adapted to support custom operational requirements, such as humanitarian missions, by providing the space for medical facilities and aid supplies.