Work to build two massive parts of Britain's ￡4 billion aircraft carriers is likely to be switched away from BAE Systems' shipyard in Barrow. The formal decision, due in a matter of days, is likely to see the work transferred to yards in Scotland. The Ministry of Defence and the Aircraft Carrier Alliance, which comprises several industrial partners, have been reviewing the build strategy for the aircraft carriers. Up until now, the two ships were expected to be built in blocks at yards in Barrow, Portsmouth, Devon and Glasgow, before being put together at Rosyth near Edinburgh. But sources close to the project have said that the Barrow yard is too busy building the Astute class of nuclear submarines to manufacture the 9,000-tonne mid-sections of the carriers.
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