According to the company, the newly installed system will support secure encryption and fibre links for voice communications across the Babcock Marine fleet engineering delivery team which provides maintenance for submarines and other vessels sited at Faslane on the Gare Loch.
HMNB Clyde is one of only three operating naval bases in the UK and is the navy's headquarters in Scotland including being home to the UK’s nuclear weapons supply made up of nuclear submarines armed with Trident missiles.
The submarine base encompasses a number of separate sites, including Faslane and
RNAD Coulport beside Loch Long, where more than 8,000 staff are currently based. The new communications system deployed will support “new levels of communication” for 280 of those staff to communicate across the site directly using the hand portable radios using Motorola Capacity Max technology and a central pc dispatcher terminal.
TES head of business Steve Smith said the entire digital radio system had been “specifically adapted” for highly secure communications across a large area.
Paul Henderson, project manager for business improvements at HMNB Clyde, said: “This enables instant communication amongst the various fleet engineering project teams each using their own frequency across the site without any interference.
“It will help improve site efficiency and improve how we can communicate important information with key workers who may be at the other end of the site. Crane and slinging operations will now be able to continue to work in times of restricted light for example, safe in the knowledge that other staff can guide them using the radio system. This system will also be crucial in giving us access to information quickly where we need it in the event of any incidents.”
