LONDON (Reuters) – Britain’s defence ministry will take back direct control of the operation and development of the country’s nuclear weapons from a consortium of Lockheed Martin, Serco and Jacobs Engineering in June 2021, it said on Monday.
Operation of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, which maintains the warheads for the Trident submarine-based nuclear deterrent, was awarded to the AWE Management consortium in 1999 under a 25-year contract.
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The government said ending the commercial arrangement early would improve its agility in managing the UK’s nuclear deterrent and deliver value for money to the taxpayer.
Serco said it was told about the termination of the contract late on Friday. Shares in Serco fell 13% in early deals.
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