LONDON (UK) – The defence ministry of Britain said that it would take back direct control of the operation and development of the nation’s nuclear weapons from a consortium comprising Lockheed Martin, Serco and Jacobs Engineering in June 2021.
The Atomic Weapons Establishment takes care of the warheads for the Trident submarine-based nuclear deterrent and its operation was handed over to the AWE Management consortium in 1999 under a 25-year contract.
While Lockheed Martin owns 51%, Serco and Jacobs Engineering own 24.5% each of the consortium.
Terminating the commercial arrangement would improve its agility in managing the nuclear deterrent and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.
Serco said it was informed late of Friday about the decision to terminate the contract.
Aldermaston-based AWE is also required to retain the capacity to design a new weapon if needed.
As per the firm, AWE was slated to make a contribution of 17 million pounds ($22 million) to its underlying trading profit and pretax profit in 2020.
Assuming that there will be a smooth handover of the contract next year, the expected profit would remain in line with the current consensus.