(Adds background, quotes)
LONDON, March 30 (Reuters) - Britain has ordered more than
10,000 ventilators from a consortium of leading aerospace,
engineering and technology companies, with production to begin
this week.
The group, including Airbus, BAE Systems,
Ford and Formula One racing teams, said it expected to get
a very prompt regulatory sign off after the final audit.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson made an urgent appeal earlier
this month for manufacturers to start making specialist health
equipment including ventilators ahead of an expected peak of the
coronavirus pandemic that could overwhelm the health service.
Vacuum cleaner company Dyson has said it has also received
an order of a newly-made ventilator.
The engineering consortium will accelerate production of an
agreed new design, based on existing technologies, which can be
assembled from materials and parts in current production.
"This consortium brings together some of the most innovative
companies in the world," Dick Elsy, the head of the consortium
said in a statement. "I am confident this consortium has the
skills and tools to make a difference and save lives."
(Reporting by Kate Holton and Guy Faulconbridge)
Smiths Group (SMIN)
Unilever (ULVR)
Rolls-Royce (RR.)
BAE Systems (BA.)