The midship double bottoms for HMS Formidable have been transferred into the purpose built Venturer Building at Rosyth, a big step in the assembly of the Royal Navy’s third Type 31 frigate.
The move involved 56 axles of self propelled modular transporters carrying a total of 224 tyres, shifting more than 800 tonnes of steel with careful precision.
The operation, managed by Babcock International, is part of the phased build strategy that sees large prefabricated modules of the ship brought together under cover for integration.
HMS Formidable is the third of five Type 31 general purpose frigates being built for the Royal Navy under a £1.25 billion contract. Designed around the Arrowhead 140 platform, the class is intended to provide a versatile, exportable capability for tasks including maritime security, escort duties, and global forward presence.
Each 5,700 tonne ship will be fitted with the Thales TACTICOS combat management system, Sea Ceptor surface to air missiles, a 57mm main gun, and two 40mm Bofors guns. The frigates will also embark a Wildcat or Merlin helicopter and can deploy unmanned surface and underwater vehicles via a flexible mission bay.
The Type 31 programme is one of the UK’s most significant naval construction efforts, supporting thousands of jobs across the supply chain and forming part of the wider National Shipbuilding Strategy. HMS Venturer, the first of the class, is already in advanced assembly, with HMS Active following closely behind.
HMS Formidable’s move inside the Venturer Building is the beginning of her next build phase, as blocks are aligned, joined, and outfitted ahead of consolidation into the full hull. Once complete, the Type 31s will provide the Royal Navy with a globally deployable, cost effective frigate designed for endurance, adaptability, and sustained operations alongside allies.
I have a sinking feeling that the Denmark deal that both myself and many others were so excited about may have simply been a case of the FT jumping the gun. The deal was supposed to have been announced by the end of September.
My opinion would be to forget about the Mk41 modules until their MLU, and instead restore the amount of Sea Ceptors back to 24. Use the saved money to fund an extra pair of ships.
Not so sure. Denmark need to replace the iver Huitfeldts which were built in Estonia and Lithuania with fitting out done in Denmark. Given the T31 designs origins, building at Rosyth looks logical.
We can’t crew an extra pair of ships and we don’t even know if the Mk41 is funded
Royal Navy recruiting has been increasing in recent years. Assuming current trends, expecting to crew a couple of extra ships by the early 2030s (especially as the more crew-intensive Type 23s age out) is entirely possible.
We can’t even crew our 8 remaining frigates, we’ll be lucky to support 13
Time for a return to the Press Gang? It seems that the RN has historically, always had a recruitment problem? 🙂
Yes, kind of. If there’s an unemployment queue in the UK maybe more effort needed to entice some into the services. There should be plenty. Give people a chance, good training, decent pay and working conditions and benefits. It can’t be that hard can it?
100% Quentin.
One idea might be to aim the recruiting programme’s focus at the kind of people that once joined rather than groups that traditionally did not and have not in any number.
By “traditionally did not” Barry means “where banned from serving.”
It won’t free up many crew I grant you but by 2028/29 the three River B1’s will have been decommissioned
I thought the whole thing was that the first two won’t have the MK41 but will be fitted later?
Since the extra ships would not be commissioned until 2032 is completely irrelevant the ability of the RN to crew ships is now.. this constant we cannot crew them is circular argument that lacks logic…. Of course the RN could not Crew them at present they don’t have the ships so why the hell would they have the crew.. 7 years is a long time and allows for a strategic workforce plan to get the crews.l but unless you decide to build the warship you will never ever train the crew…….
They’ve already decided we’re not getting more frigates
We don’t know that Hugo, you’re making an assumption. We will find out when the 10 year defence investment plan comes out in the autumn.
The push for a massive number of LUSVs indicates that we won’t
I’m not sure.. the ongoing plan was to push to 24 escorts.
I think we have a lot of variables at play.
MRSS If the RN goes for a large 20,000+ amphibious vessel it’s not getting 6 infact it will be lucky to get 3.. I suspect it will split the MRSS programme into 3 large amphibious vessel and a number of smaller littoral combat vessels
Just coming out and scrapping the Type 32 programme will open the government to massive levels of attack from all parties and hit them hard in Scotland ( which they cannot afford).
Because of all this I suspect we will see another T31 batch focused on littoral and drone combat with a merging of the T32 and half the MRSS programme.. so 3-5 vessels. That can be played as expanding the escort fleet.
We have seen very little evidence that the RN is in anyway happy with it Stirling castle or RFA proteus. Infact the future commissioning of these type of vessels has gone utterly silent..
The RN always had a vast array of 1000-2000 ton patrol presence and mine warfare vessels (a fleet of 20-30) there is at present no talk of how this function will be taken over ( the autonomous mine warfare capabilities are inshore boats that need a ship to take them places look after them and guard them from being nicked.
In regards to the future LUSV program it’s key to remember all the talk has been on optionally manned platforms.. the world leader in this field China has always focused on optionally manned.
So essential these lean/optionally manned ( crew 10-15 and 1000-2000 tons ) LUSVs replace this fleet ( the rivers 1s and mine warfare vessels as they go out of commission and finally the rivers 2 as they go as well) because a 1000-2000 ton LUSV whatever it’s wartime function will have a patrol or sub war function that needs a small crew ( a medium gun, flight deck, area for 2 shipping crates and a crane is all you need for a patrol and mine warfare or undersea monitoring mothership.
Essentially in peace time the LUSV does the patrol, EEZ protection and mine warfare function with its crew of 10-15.. in a hot war or as part of a CBG it does its unmanned high end function ( ASW or AAW )..so I suspect it’s the smaller boats and the Stirling castle, Protius that will disappear to provide the crew and operating costs for this new fleet.
Just my thoughts but as I said it’s so complex with so many variables at present we have no idea which why they will jump ( other than the treasury will try to go half assed and cheap in year) .
On frigates, I can’t see them jumping either way for at least eighteen months. They never seem to decide things early, or at least announce such decisions. The only reason to do so is to make Babcock feel comfortable, and that’s not good enough, especially with the promise of orders from Denmark or Sweden. An order placed in the second quarter of 2027, shortly after the long-promised increase will get the RN their extra frigates at roughly the same time as if they ordered them now.
The biggest difference could be the spec. If an order is left late, design work could suffer on upgrades, and promised lean crewing levels or other aspects might have to wait.
Until then, I think all focus will be on uncrewed, to swing behind 1SL’s direction.
I wonder if the biggest issue with Proteus and the potential Castles is the future of the RFA, rather than the ship concepts themselves. The RFA fix was a bit of a band-aid, and a lot more needs to be done.
You aren’t meant to know
It’s public information when they do Foreign Military sales
Surely delivery of an extra pair of ships is 10 years away. Do you not think that with will the RN could increase manpower? Seems a bit defeatist just to say not possible for something that should be easy to fix
Anything new to say?
Recruitment is up.
The shortage is only in a few trades and the biggest reason for shortages was the way the training pipeline was organised.
Hugo I can’t say I have seen any actual orders, as US Congressional approval is required in the as foreign military sales, other than the 3 set bought for the Tyre 26’s in 2022 not seen anything. Unless someone knows more?
From my research I can find no confirmation of the UK ordering any more Mk 41 modules.
When you add it up we need to order 5 more sets for our remaining type 26 builds, 5 more sets for the Norwegian Type 26 order and if Type 31 gets them another 5 sets for them.
Mmmmm that’s a lot of Mk 41.
I believe there is build Q so would be nice to see some orders going in .
The MK41 is just a design. It has been built under license by a few companies. BAE or Babcock could build it in house if they feel there is economy of scale to do so.
Hmm, you might be right there.
But we have to decide whether T31 is a GP frigate with fully rounded capabilities or a patrol frigate aiming for cheapness and lots of hulls. At the moment we haven’t decided, and I’m worried we will have the worst of both worlds even though either is a perfectly good option.
Now, mine’s to bed because ESATs are tomorrow!
Good luck! I’ve just started my degree, so I can confirm that’s there’s nothing quite like university!
Oh, what course are you doing? Engineering for me, as you can probably tell from my entrance exam.
Yes. All the best for those, whether you are reading this before or after.
Agree but I don’t think we should forget about Mk 41. It will give T31 a real role. Being able to tNe out air defence assets or key infrastructure at over 1,000 km impressive indeed, in effect it will act as am arsenal ship for T26 and the CSG. Also still able to do the goal keeper role for QEC. Also agree however we should aim for as an interim for 24 CAAM plus 8 x NSM. Also right hulls not five. This would return us to the magic 24 escorts the RN clearly needs . 6 x T45 , 8 x T26, 8 x T31 plus the five B2 Rivers would work well for me. To push out a nearly 6,000 ton warship with only 12 x CAAM is truly pathetic IMHO.
Apologies for the above – sent from my phone on the train but you get the drift . Should say eight hulls not five and 24 CAAM not 12 . BPT ! Real shame there isn’t an option to edit after you post.
Just to add, and this is from a while back, when the T31 was proposed for the Greek light frigate requirement I’m pretty sure it had 6×6 CAMM farm, mounted transversely, so that can be done. Extra 12 shots is pretty useful. Maybd two less mk41s, orcput them on the B 40mm position. Save on 5x 40mm which can go on other ships?Would like to have seen them do a 4×8 CAMM farm for the T45s to get 80 shots all up. Be interesting to see a top view photo of the 24 CAMM farm.
*or can put
Both 40mm canons are needed in order to provide 360 degree coverage.
As well as anti-surface and anti-aircraft, the canons serve as the CIWS too.
Can the mushroom farm tubes be reloaded at sea? The missile itself is only 99 kg plus soft launch container. The missiles are mounted high, away from any bow spray. I can’t see why a trolley system and winch couldn’t be devised to reload them.
They don’t have a crane, how are you getting the missiles to the mid deck
Cranes have always seemed to be the wrong tech anyway, leading to swinging about if used during travel. Surely you need something more like a forklift that can position the canister over the hole and lower it under motor control, without relying on gravity.
That is not such a silly idea – using an electric forklift.
The issue is getting the missile onto the forklift. You’d need to be able to lay the lifter flat for the pickup which would be flat to the deck.
Then erect.
Then lower.
Could actually work.
Alignment is an issue but that could be dealt with by digital steering from deck alignment marks.
Didn’t the Sea Dart have a kind ‘fork’ lift arrangement to feed the missiles up to the launch rail to be reverse feed into the magazine..?
Cheers CR
Thats been asked before. Something maybe they could with a gantry/crane set up and smooth seas and strong lads/lasses. Or re-supply the box 6 CAMM set via crane device. The 6 CAMM becoming a mini milk crate container. But i think it might be bigger than it looks.
I really for the life of me can’t understand why the navy include those river boats in the numbers of warships. They have a single 30mm and some 7.62 machine guns. A Somalian pirate skiff ould put up a fight against that with rockets. Big boats with no bite at all,Norwegian Finnish Swedish patrol boats can at least e gage surface targets with missiles.pathetic waste of money
Youre including corvettes with short legs as “patrol boats”, theyre no good for long range missions
Think 8 NSM plus 24 CAMM is fine
We’re not getting 24 camm
that was a replay to Pongoglo saying “we should aim for as an interim for 24 CAAM plus 8 x NSM”.
I think the 12 CAMM initial load is to give the option of a 2nd 12 or the Mk41 down the line.
The 12 CAMm is because we’re cheap bastards
Agreed and what I can’t understand although I’m not a naval architect clearly is why we can’t simply port across the existing CAAM mushroom farms from decommissioned Type 23 , if not all 32 launch tubes then at least 24.
The problem with cancelling A to get B is that the cancellation always happens first whereas the replacement procurement often not at all. I think we should look to get the Mk41s asap; we have no need for more than five patrol frigates. The extra two frigates would come at the same time in the 2030s whether ordered now, next year or early the year after. We need to make the most of what we have in this decade. It’s getting pretty dangerous out there. I suspect that MOD will leave an order for a second batch of T31s to 27/28 anyway (when budgets ease), especially if Denmark or Sweden put an order in and there’s no pressure to keep Rosyth going full throttle.
Until the Mk41 are fitted they have no teeth…..
I don’t think anyone has confirmed in the public domain what the Type 31 are going to fitted with at the start…. NSM ? How many sea ceptor? 8 12 24?
It is a bit ridiculous a 5700 ton ship with no medium or long range offensive weapons fitted from the start what is meant to be a just target?
Venturers construction and fitting out images confirm 12 CAMM and the three guns.
The 12 CAMM fit out is absolutely! Can’t believe the pea-brained thinking behind that! This is meant to a warship not something to float in the bath! If they can’t afford a 4x mk41s for each T31 hope they use their common and go for a mk41/Exls or mk41/ CAMM farm mix. It can be done.
*absolutely [pathetic]!
It seems crazy if the first thing you plan to do is upgrade the VLS, and it seems an awful lot crazier if it isn’t. We haven’t heard the details about the capability insertion programme, when the ships will be upgraded and what the final fit out will be.
It’s time those plans were made public, because there needs to be some public pressure to make sure it happens at all.
Not only 3 guns, but the 40mms appear to be non-deck penetrating…
The existing DS/DB30s are non deck penetrating?
Yes, but the 40mk4s can have a penetrating magazine which increases the rounds per gun from 100 to ~600 and also allows the gun to be reloaded from underneath.
And I wouldn’t want to be perched above T31’s hangar in a storm trying to feed rounds into the mount by hand.
12 is comical. And hopefully untrue.
What is even more commercial is they are defensive……
So any adversary just has to stay 20Km away and can shoot/launch drones at the Type 31 with impunity, with only the option of wildcat attacking it. So something like the Hootie yeman problem, they would unable to hit back at all.
The two gun combinations is good defensively, against swarm attacks in particular, but you they have nothing to hit the attackers back with. The 12 Sea Ceptor at this stage is a bit of Joke tbh, why are they ever bothering ….. 8 NSM would have a better choice as they have AA covered.
They’ll get NSM canisters if they don’t get Mk41s, 11 sets are being ordered which is enough for all T31s and T45s
NSM is incredibly short ranged
Harpoon had a range of 120km.
Kongsberg lists NSM’s range as being in excess of 300km.
It’s hardly a short ranged system as Ship Launched Anti-Ship missiles go.
Would you know a cost comparison between a Mk41, and ExLS (6×4) and the CAMM ×24 Farm?
Maybe the CAMM farm they’re putting on the T45s should be going on the T31s and the T45s get thr vls. I know it’s too late, i just like whinge about it.
T45 Mk41 was cancelled so that it could be put on the T31, though as of yet unfunded
“Maybe the CAMM farm they’re putting on the T45s should be going on the T31s…”
No, it was not. The CAMM cells and equipment were ordered at the time of when the CAMM upgrade plan for T45 was devised.
A few more T31s would mean the RN could have a more sustained presence in the Suez Persian Gulf area, Indo-Pacific upholding international law and trade lanes Maybe 4 for North, 4 for South, including Falklands. Free up other ships to do their AAW/ASW/CSG roles. Find the money, build the ships, find the crews. Less is not more, less is less presence.
Bringing T31 to a class of 8 would make sense as would an evolved class of 5 fitted with TACTICOSS and NS radar for commonality.
I think a lot of questions will be answered when venturer finally gets into the fleet.
Agree; baby steps are the way to go. The first one or two post sea trials T31s with just the contracted 12 Ceptors will be a step up from HMS Mersey as fleet ready escort!
More pictures please, George, and more info. One fish eye lens picture with nothing to scale it doesn’t say much. Please can we have an update on Active, state of build and some timescale as to when the ship will be out of the hall. And also for Formidable, when is she expected to be structurally complete etc.
There are people in the image.
id love an update on the fitting out of venturer and Glasgow and the newest projected into service dates
Just popped over to Navy Lookout and they have story that suggests that Ireland may be thinking about procuring a patrol frigate with the T31 being a possible contender. This is being pushed instead of procuring a multi-role support and disaster relief ship…
Interesting indeed.
Cheers CR
Meh, NavyLookout are pretty late with that, it was in Irish media in August, and bounced around the harbour back at the start of the year, think Mickey and I have commented on it before here as well. DOD are opposed to the suggestion, and the NDP and Budget didn’t mention anything on the NS with other Capital projects getting flagged so not very optimistic on the suggestion.
BTW the rumour floating around was that the NS was actually pushing for the 140 MNP not an Arrowhead, but the amount of rumours bouncing around are massive.
Ah, OK thanks for the clarification…
Would have been nice to see another possible customer for Babcock though.
Cheers CR
Not saying impossible, just highly doubtful with no official sign from Government Buildings that they are willing to fund the step up to a frigate. But as commented elsewhere, this is on foot of the Irish delegation attending DSEI, it could be just PR briefing from Babcock (wouldn’t be the first time they’ve hinted they were talking about an Irish order), or it could be based on something they did get from the DF/DOD team that hasn’t broke yet.
So, yeah, not impossible, but not sure I’d put money on an order. Of course the other rumour going round the harbour was that it was the Polish yard that was trying to get interest, which annoyed Babcock.
Morning Mark. How are you doing?
It’s Friday and off to see Munster in the URC tonight so happy days, hows it going for you?
All good-enjoy the game:)
Do the Polish yard hold the IP to build an A140 without Babcock – I’d be surprised if they did.
Fair question, not sure whether the suggestion was Babcock wanted it for their yard to follow on from the 31 order and were miffed that the Polish yard was offering a slot or something else. Like everything, rumours on equipment buys have been bouncing around all over the place.
Poles wanting us to buy their surplus Blackhawks, the UK wanting us to buy the 149, the army vehicle fleet buy…
Sadly, it’s all still pretty much noise and smoke at the moment.
Morning CR!
Morning Geoff,
Hope you are well…
Hanging in my friend
Will there be a keel laying ceremony of sorts? I recall there was for the previous two, but I don’t recall how it works with assemblies and when the notional time is?
I would love to know the latest ISDs for the T31’s. Hopefully Venturer is still on track to enter service by the end of 2027, but there seems to be an awful lot of work still to be done before she can even start contractor sea trials – supposedly Summer 2026.
By next month the RN will be down to 7 T45s and 6 T23’s, perhaps 5 operationally useful, 4 in deep refit, and 4 in maintenance periods, trials, workup, etc. Iron Duke is then scheduled to decommission in 2027 – 4 years after re-entering service after her final major refit. But if she develops any expensive to repair defects before then, the norm with the T23’s has become a premature low-profile withdraw from service. We can but hope that the currently expected low of 12 escorts in 2027 is as bad as it gets.
I remember a story years back about Iron Duke being in such bad repair what with Corrosion that it was doubtful that she would undergo her refit at all. What a shambles we allowed matters to get to.
Pictures of her with grass growing were doing the rounds.
Story was you could see daylight through the deck in places.
Ouch! That is not a ship I would want to go to sea in… Holes in hulls tend to have negatived connotations.
It’ll probably become the new norm.
After every cut, the new low is the benchmark that new escort numbers reach.
8 T26 and 5 T31 replace the 13 T23 which were 16, with the T22B3s on top.
6 T45 replaced 11 T45. Will we ever get 6 T83.
So into the fantasy realm of these autonomous assets to achieve mass.
I shall live in reality until the future becomes today.
Till then, this government show no signs of being any different beyond words.
Yes but you forget the T32’s !
It’s a “Growing Navy” (or was that “Rowing” Navy) ?
When they said they’re commissioning Sloops, they actually meant with sails.
Ha-oh for the days of ONLY two carriers East of Suez!!
Is this the Airfix model ?
This one’s by Games Workshop, you can tell as it’s covered in bat droppings 🙂
A lot of scaffolding around HMS Active, wondering how long until she gets rolled out.
About 140 metres.
You’re welcome 😁😁😁
Loose lips sink ships people
No.