Type 26 build slot allocation still being worked out

The allocation of individual Type 26 build slots between the Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy has yet to be settled, with detailed production scheduling continuing to be developed with industry and international partners, Defence Minister Luke Pollard has told Parliament.

Responding to a written question from Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, who asked how many Type 26 build slots are allocated to each navy during the near-term investment period set out in the Defence Investment Plan, Pollard said the programme “remains focused on delivering a combined fleet of at least 13 frigates to hunt for Russian submarines in the North Atlantic, the biggest British warship deal in history and centrepiece of the Lunna House Agreement.”

That fleet comprises eight Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates for the Royal Navy and at least five for Norway, he said, adding: “Detailed production scheduling and the allocation of individual build slots associated with United Kingdom and Norwegian requirements continue to be developed with industry and international partners.”

The answer follows confirmation from the Government earlier this year that build slots currently allocated to the Royal Navy were being assessed for potential transfer to Norway.

In a written answer to Conservative MP Mark Francois, Pollard said at the time that the UK was “working together with our Norwegian Partners” and “assessing options for offering Type 26 build slots currently allocated to the Royal Navy to the Royal Norwegian Navy.” That marked the first direct acknowledgement that such an approach was being actively examined, although the possibility had long been discussed in defence industry circles given that the combined fleet would, the Government argued, be carrying out tasks in the same area as part of broadly the same effort.

Britain confirms no cuts to Type 26 frigate order plans

Ministers have consistently maintained that the Royal Navy’s own programme will not be reduced as a result. “The Royal Navy will receive all eight Type 26 ships during the late 2020s and 2030s as planned,” Pollard said in the earlier answer, describing Norway’s biggest ever defence procurement as creating a combined Anglo-Norwegian force of thirteen anti-submarine warfare frigates operating jointly in Northern Europe and significantly strengthening NATO’s northern flank.

Norway selected the Type 26 in 2025 to replace its Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates, with the ships to be built by BAE Systems on the Clyde alongside the Royal Navy’s vessels. The sequencing of Norwegian hulls within the existing production run has been one of the central questions hanging over the arrangement, given Oslo’s desire to field its new frigates quickly and the Royal Navy’s need to replace its ageing Type 23s, which are leaving service faster than their successors arrive.

The programme itself continues to progress, with first-of-class HMS Glasgow powered up for the first time in December, generating her own electricity through onboard diesel generators that form part of the class’s hybrid propulsion architecture, designed to support the low acoustic signature central to anti-submarine operations.