The MoD has signed contracts worth £3bn for the creation of the UK's biggest ever aircraft carriers.
Building the HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will provide work for 4,600 employees at Govan in Glasgow and Rosyth in Fife and hundreds more in Wales.
The 65,000-tonne ships will each be 280 metres long and capable of carrying up to 40 planes. They will include Phalanx close-in weapon systems; 30mm and mini-guns.
Defence Secretary Des Browne said the signing of the contracts, marked a "historic day for everyone in defence."
"The two aircraft carriers will provide our forces with the world-class capabilities they will need over the coming decades," he said.
The ships are due in service in 2014 and 2016.
(GK/JM)
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