Based at HMNB Clyde at Faslane, Scotland, the SMERAS trainer enables students to practice abandoning a submarine in a realistic training environment that simulates the expected conditions onboard a submarine in distress. (Royal Navy/Crown Copyright)

Capita-led consortium Team Fisher has taken over responsibility for the UK Royal Navy’s (RN’s) Submarine Escape, Rescue, Abandonment, and Survival (SMERAS) facility as part of a 12-year training contract it is delivering under Project Selborne.

Based at HMNB Clyde at Faslane, Scotland, the SMERAS facility is a controllable training environment that enables personnel to practice escape, rescue, and abandonment techniques under realistic conditions before boarding a real submarine. The training is centred on a blend of practical and classroom teaching, and the facility is capable of delivering a minimum of 82 courses to more than 2,700 trainees per year.

Team Fisher – a consortium comprising Raytheon UK, Elbit Systems UK, Fujitsu, the University of Lincoln, and several smaller UK suppliers – was awarded a contract worth about GBP1 billion (USD1.2 billion) in January 2021 to deliver training services to the RN and Royal Marines across 16 sites during the next 12 years.