4,000 UK jobs will be supported by the new contract, awarded to BAE Systems, to build the second batch of Type 26 frigates
A British shipyard has been awarded a £4.2 billion contract to build the second batch of Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy.
Delivering on ambitions laid out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh earlier this year, the contract awarded to BAE Systems will support 1,700 British jobs over the next decade at BAE Systems sites in Govan and Scotstoun, Glasgow.
As part of the contract, BAE Systems has committed to invest £1.2 billion in the UK supply chain, supporting a further 2,300 jobs with more than 120 suppliers all over the UK.
Leading the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare surface fleet, the five new City-class ships – HMS Birmingham, HMS Sheffield, HMS Newcastle, HMS Edinburgh and HMS London – will join the first three T26s already in build at Govan – HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast.
Construction of all eight frigates is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, with the first, HMS Glasgow, entering service by the end of 2028.
Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:
Replacing the bulk of the retiring Type 23 fleet, the Type 26 frigates will be flexible and advanced warships with the primary purpose of anti-submarine warfare, protecting the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent and Maritime Strike Group.
At just under 150m long – around the length of three Olympic swimming pools – and with a top speed of more than 26 knots and a range of more than 7,000 nautical miles, the vessels will be capable of countering piracy and delivering humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
Carrying the Sea Ceptor missile defence system - able to destroy airborne and sea surface targets - the vessels will also carry a five-inch medium calibre gun, an embarked helicopter for specific operations, radar and sonar for expert navigation and tracking adversaries.
A flexible mission bay means the vessels could also be adapted to carry specific Armed Forces and equipment tailored for operations. The Mk.41 vertical launch silo will be fitted to enable rapid-fire missile launches.
BAE Systems Chief Executive Officer, Charles Woodburn, said:
Improving build efficiency, BAE Systems has submitted a planning application for a new 175 metre long, 85 metre wide Shipbuilding Hall at Govan, which will allow two frigates to be built simultaneously under cover. This investment will be a major factor in the final five City-class ships costing less and being delivered faster than previous vessels.
In the manufacturing supply chain, £248 million worth of work has been committed to Scotland, with £16 million to Wales and £749 million to England.
Vice Admiral Paul Marshall, DE&S Director General Ships, said:
The vessels are designed to reduce environmental impacts, and are fitted with features - including a hydrodynamically designed hull - to optimise fuel efficiency and a diesel engine emissions abatement, which reduces nitrogen oxide exhaust.
Steel will be cut on the first of the next five vessels, HMS Birmingham, this winter, marking the start of the Batch 2 build phase.