A&P GROUP, which runs Southampton's King George V dry dock, has announced its intention to bid for a slice of the lucrative CVF Future Carrier Programme.

A spokesman for A&P Group said: "The CVF programme will provide the Royal Navy with its two most important surface vessels for the next 50 years and will require commitment from many areas of industry to deliver these vital ships.

"A&P has been identified by the MoD as one of the organisations which has the people, experience and facilities to bring the project to a successful conclusion by 2015."

Other major Hampshire firms involved in the multi-billion-pound project include VT and BAE Systems.