Devonport overhaul prepares base for Type 26 fleet

HMNB Devonport is set for £7.1 billion of infrastructure upgrades as the Royal Navy prepares the Plymouth base for Type 26 frigates, submarine support and an expanded role in maritime autonomy.

HMNB Devonport is being prepared for the arrival of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates as part of a £7.1 billion programme of upgrades to the naval base and dockyard, the UK Defence Journal understands.

The scale of the work was outlined during a visit by Defence Secretary Wes Streeting, accompanied by Plymouth Sutton and Devonport MP and Minister for Defence Readiness and Industry Luke Pollard. According to a Ministry of Defence news update, the investment forms part of Royal Oak, a £26 billion, ten-year programme to modernise Britain’s naval infrastructure described by the Government as the largest programme of its kind since the end of the Cold War.

Devonport is due to become home to the Royal Navy’s new Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates, placing the base at the centre of the surface fleet’s future North Atlantic and submarine-hunting capability. The base already has a separate strategic role as the UK’s only facility responsible for the deep maintenance and defuelling of Royal Navy nuclear submarines. Maintenance undertaken at Devonport contributes to keeping the submarine fleet available, while its defuelling facilities are used as older nuclear-powered boats move through the decommissioning process.

Streeting visited naval personnel and industry teams involved in engineering and maintenance work and inspected facilities being constructed to support the submarine fleet. The £7.1 billion allocated across Devonport Naval Base and Dockyard is intended to provide new and upgraded infrastructure while improving readiness and the availability of ships and submarines based or maintained there.

Streeting said, as quoted in the news update: “The work done here at Devonport is critical to keeping our country safe. From our Commando Forces ready to deploy at a moment’s notice, to our Navy personnel and industry who maintain our submarines – Plymouth is a city where defence runs in the blood.”

He added: “As we bring the Type 26 fleet to Devonport in the coming years, we’re investing in this base and our forces, ensuring it will remain at the heart of our naval power for generations to come, and continuing to push the frontier of defence innovation.”

The investment in Devonport is running alongside a wider modernisation of the UK Commando Force. Around £500 million was committed in the Defence Investment Plan to continue that transformation, including new high-speed boats as well as drone and autonomous technologies. Plymouth is home to Royal Marines and other elements of the UK Commando Force, giving the wider area a role in both conventional naval support and the development of new littoral capabilities.

Pollard said, as quoted in the same news update: “Devonport is the beating heart of Plymouth, and it was fantastic to welcome the Secretary of State here today to see for himself what our Commando Forces, submariners, and dockyard workers do for our national security.”

He continued: “This is a base with a proud history and an even brighter future. The Type 26 fleet and the continued investment in our submarine capability means Devonport will remain vital to the defence of this country, and vital to jobs and skills here in Plymouth.”

The Type 26 will become the Royal Navy’s principal specialist anti-submarine warfare frigate, replacing the eight Type 23s currently assigned to that role. Basing the new class at Devonport means the current infrastructure programme must support not only the ships themselves but the engineering, logistics and training arrangements necessary to sustain them through decades of service.