SOUTHAMPTON is now the focal point of one of the largest and most exciting projects in the history of modern warships construction.

It is certainly no over-statement to say the news announced by city shipbuilder Vosper Thornycroft yesterday is the best Southampton has heard in decades.

The new climate of increasing defence spending on suface ships for the Royal Navy and outsourcing of support services leaves Vosper Thornycroft and its Southampton workforce uniquely positioned to achieve even further growth. It can only increase and strengthen industrial confi-dence in this region.

Vosper Thornycroft's work-force is perfectly placed to launch the new era of warship construction.

One of the largest injections of cash the local economy has ever known should secure hundreds of jobs for years to come. Out of this will emerge the new advanced generation of Royal Navy warship.

The announcement comes as the company celebrates a milestone no other shipbuilder in the world can touch with the launch of the Royal Navy's newest mine-hunter.

HMS Bangor was the 21st minehunter VT has built for the navy - which underlining the company's premier position in the construction of this type of vessel.

The company's core busi-ness is designing, constructing, equipping and supporting warships and it continues to develop a unique export record by increasing its worldwide share of markets for high-performance naval vessels.

VT's reputation for quality and vision has it roots in the generations of local craftsmen who have honed their techniques and accomplishments in the yard.

It is this enviable reputation which has resulted in a Vosper Thornycroft order book worth £700 million and discussions with the Ministry of Defence over the building of the Royal Navy's new anti-air war-fare destroyer.

The government, anxious to replace the aging and expensive-to-operate Type 42 destroyers, has turned to VT, and defence giant Marconi, for a solution to the problem.

At first a tri-national scheme, codenamed Horizon, involving Great Britain, France and Italy was thought to be the answer but little progress was made and final-ly Whitehall took the decision to pull out and set up the UK's own national development programme.

The scheme calls for an entirely new class of 12 warships, costing £7 billion, to be designed and built as soon as possible.

"In all my years at Vosper Thornycroft this is the best news I have ever been able to give,'' said Martin Jay, the company's chief executive. "It's importance to Southampton is enormous and opens up excellent prospects for the yard and its workforce.''

More than 1,000 jobs will be secured as a result of the agreement, expected to be signed next year by the government and VT.

"Marconi Electronic Systems, the probable prime contractor for the national programme, have, at MoD's request, started discus-sions with VT about our involvment with Marconi in the ship design stage and the building of one of two first-of-class ships at Woolston,'' said Mr Jay.

Detailed design work will follow confirmation of the contract. Production will get- under- way at Woolston in 2002 and taking three years to the launch. Sea trials and assessments would then take place. The RN expects to take delivery in 2007.

All this work should ideally be carried out in the Southampton yard and place the company in pole position when the government looks around to place orders for the remaining planned vessels.

Vosper Thornycroft, which can trace its origins back to the 19th century, is one of the great local success stories. The company has just reported pre-tax profits of £34.2 million, an increase of four per cent compared to last year and the eleventh consecutive year of profit since flotation.

Since the early 1990's Vosper Thornycroft has adopted a corporate strategy of diversifying its activities into new business areas.

This was undertaken with the underlying intention of reducing the compa-ny's dependence on lucrative warship contracts and to ensure the continued growth of the company against the background of an unprecedented decline in national and international defence budgets.

VT's reputation has also been boosted by the award of the contract to build the first trimaran warship.

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