Dorchester company wins £32m MoD contract
Atlas Electronik will be making mine-hunting systems
A huge £32 million contract from the Ministry of Defence has been awarded to Dorchester's Atlas Electronik (UK).
It'll mean 50 jobs are created at the site, along with another 23 shops across Europe.
The contract is to make three sets of Medium Autonomous Underwater Vessels (MAUV), which are used for hunting out mines, without human personnel having to do it.
They'll then be used by the Royal Navy.
The news has been welcomed by South Dorset MP Richard Drax. He said:
“This is another big win for Atlas Elektronik. These mine hunters use state of the art technology to provide protection for both the Royal Navy and the UK’s maritime interests.
“Autonomous, or drone, mine-hunters, which hunt down and destroy enemy mines without endangering naval personnel, are controlled remotely by operators on sea or land. They will protect our Navy, our submariners and our many maritime interests and add to our already impressive system of autonomous assets.
“These mine-hunters were promised in the integrated review and I am pleased and proud that a South Dorset-based firm is providing them. Atlas continues to bring jobs, prosperity and cutting edge science to our constituency, while benefitting the whole nation.”