HMS Cardiff, the second Type 26 City Class frigate, is starting to look the part as the vessel continues construction in Govan, Glasgow.

The ship is undergoing structural work before being floated and transported to BAE Systems’ Scotstoun facility in 2024 for outfitting.

New drone footage shows the build progress of HMS Cardiff, the Royal Navy’s second Type 26 frigate, as the vessel and the future ‘frigate factory’ are being constructed in Glasgow.

For the avoidance of doubt, the drone footage was obtained legally by a qualified person in adherence to UK drone legislation and guidance. In addition, the drone is insured, and a flight plan was submitted using drone safety software.

https://twitter.com/UKDefJournal/status/1739610017890808112

Simon Lister, Managing Director of BAE Systems’ Naval Ships business, previously expressed pride and satisfaction in the progress.

“The emergence of HMS Cardiff is a very proud moment for everyone involved in her construction. We have now completed all major units of the ship and in the coming weeks our skilled teams will consolidate the ship in preparation for next year’s float off,” Lister said.

The first Type 26 frigate, HMS Glasgow, is currently being outfitted at BAE Systems’ Scotstoun facility. The construction of the eight Type 26 frigates is expected to last to the mid-2030s. HMS Glasgow is anticipated to be the first of the fleet to join the Royal Navy in the mid-2020s.

HMS Cardiff will be the last frigate to have its hull sections integrated in the open air on the hardstand. This is due to the construction of a new £100m-plus ship build hall at the Govan site, which will allow the integration process for the remaining six ships to take place under cover, making it less susceptible to weather conditions.

New frigate factory build progress captured by drone

Background

The City Class, also known as the Type 26 frigates, will comprise eight state-of-the-art vessels. The initial trio—HMS Glasgow, Cardiff, and Belfast—are anticipated to join the Royal Navy’s fleet before 2030, with the subsequent additions of HMS Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and London expected post-2030. These ships, displacing 6,900 tonnes and stretching 149 metres in length, are designed for efficiency and stealth, boasting a top speed of 26 knots and an impressive range of 7,000 nautical miles.

The City Class ships are equipped with BAE System’s Artisan 3D surveillance radar, an advanced technology capable of monitoring over 800 objects up to 200 kilometres away and cutting through intense radio interference. Accommodating a crew of 208, these ships provide comfortable living quarters, complete with gym facilities, recreation rooms, and a comprehensive medical facility.

In terms of combat and stealth capabilities, the City Class is at the forefront. Primarily focused on anti-submarine warfare, these ships feature acoustically quiet hulls to minimise underwater noise, crucial for the effectiveness of the two electric motors, four high-speed diesel generators, and a gas turbine direct drive. A sophisticated towed sonar array enhances their anti-submarine capabilities, allowing for both active and passive detection, as well as torpedo warning.

The City Class frigates also boast formidable air defence and surface warfare capabilities, equipped with 12 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile, complemented by an additional 24 multi-purpose MK 41 VLS cells. Each cell can house four Sea Ceptors, totalling 48 missiles per ship.

The MK 41 VLS adds flexibility, enabling the use of a variety of missiles to counter emerging threats, ensuring these vessels are ready for any eventuality.

George Allison
George Allison
George has a degree in Cyber Security from Glasgow Caledonian University and has a keen interest in naval and cyber security matters and has appeared on national radio and television to discuss current events. George is on Twitter at @geoallison
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57 COMMENTS

  2. We are not competing directly with China – nor should we. Our contribution is in an allied context with the USN being the only country able to take on China head on is such naval ship building pursuits

    • That maybe so – but the main point remains valid. Also this is not just about ship numbers….technical capability and several other factors add to overall combat capability.

  3. What a ridiculous load of propaganda. Additionally, Taiwan doesn’t want to be part of a China – and never has been under the current communist regime. The only place such a referendum would be valid is Taiwan itself.

  6. The Taiwanese problem isn’t with unification, it’s with the Chinese Communist party. If Xi quit and let the Taipei government run the combined country, China could have unification tomorrow. If you held a binary referendum in Taiwan for the dissolution of the Chinese Communist Party, I’d bet you get a score in the high 90s, don’t you think?

    • JB Doyle-the difference between our society and yours is that if for example Scotland voted for Independence, the rest of the UK would accept that vote and wish them well for the future. Taiwan does NOT want to be part of mainland China. Why can you just not simply accept this?
      Regards

  7. George lovely to see the progress but is there any chance you could repost the original build plans for the build hall, Please ?
    I can access the original posts but the plans are no longer there or not visible !

    I’m just intrigued to see how they intend to get the Blocks from the Block hall into the build hall, so I can better understand the build process and work flow.
    Sorry I may be retired now but still keep asking the same question I asked 45 years ago “how’s that going to work”.

    • SPMT will move blocks from the existing fab sheds to the new build hall , it’s been common practice for years .Unless skid rails are proposed , SPMT will probably be used to move the finished ships onto the barge for float out .Similar to HMS Glasgow.

      • I know how the theory and practice works I’ve seen it in the Devonshire Hall a few times back in the day. Watching a section being slowly inched to join another with a deck sliding in was Mmm interesting.
        They will use the Transporters to move the blocks and move the completed hull onto the barge, I don’t think they have used skids since the T45 assembly on the Govan Slipway.
        I’m just intrigued as to how they intend to do it with Belfast without causing a delay. A normal block build would be to move each block over sequentially working usual stern to bow. So 5 to 7 blocks and trying to avoid splitting major compartments between blocks.
        Presumably they are building those blocks right now, but the assembly hall is probably a year away.
        But the BAe press release implies that the mid way join will be done in the new Assembly Hall instead of outside like the 1st 2. Then transition to sequential block assembly for 3 to 8.

        Looking at the layout I don’t see how they could move the stern half out of the Block Hall and get it into the Assemble hall, just looks to tight. Hence I’d like to see the plans George sent out in the original,post in 2021 !

        The only other way I could see it being done would be to still build her in 2 halves but then put the stern half on a barge, pivot it and then off load into the Assembly hall, followed by the bow half.
        Also I don’t think it will be possible to step the mast in the hall, I seem to think that was done at Scotstoun for the T45 🤔

        It’s got my brain going 😉

        As for the images of the build at Rosyth that just looks like a “traditional” canoe build.

        • I assume that the new build hall location has allowed for sufficient space between the quayside and build hall for SPMT to move and rotate large outfitted blocks in front of the hall doors and then move inside , to load on then off the barge doesnt make sense

          • I would think post Belfast the blocks will all be joined in the build hall. Right now smaller block are joined in the existing buildings until they’re too large then moved outside for the rwo segments to be joined. Looks like there’s space to move smaller blocks easily. Belfast, the two large segments may need to go onto a barge first then moved to the new hall.

          • If they have planned the yard layout properly for space / access then the SPMT can manouver any size / weight of block into the new build hall , no need to go on a barge .

    • I’m intrigued too…. There seems to be no access or room for Skids…. I do wonder at what point in the Build Plan these ships will actually be built from scratch in the new Factory ? It’s a bit hard to see how Blocks can be moved from one place to another .

  8. “We in the west” ? 🤔

    With some of those spelling and grammer errors in such an otherwise well written but ultra pro Chinese piece I suggest you are actually Chinese or similar masquerading as a westerner.

    So nobody will really pay much attention to your propaganda.

    However, yes, there are always two sides to every story, and the Chinese naval build up is extensive and impressive.

    • Morning Daniele. Hope your Christmas, considering the circumstances, was pleasant and restful.
      Kind Regards from Geoff and Jan(raining for days-sick of it 😉)

    • When a New account comes along, it’s always a coincidence that the Old one disappears at the same time. Spelling, grammar and punctuation still remain the same though…. Much aggression in this re-incarnation. 😎

    • My first language is Gaelic therefore I care little as to how I use the English Language
      Gaelic is far richer and so descriptive
      Enabling it to convey with consummate ease by deployment of Just one word
      In order to successfully demonstrate exactly what you mean
      Whereas English I consider to be absolutely full of many a Weasel word
      That can mean many things to many people on many different days and upon many differing occasions
      The Devil with English is never in the detail
      It is in how people interpret such
      Why do you think military commands are issued in as a simplistic manner
      And upon such I lay my case to rest upon how I choose to follow far less adhere to so called proper use of the English Language as the very last thing I would ever desire to be is one who deploys words solely for nefarious purposes
      Why write a book
      If a chapter suffice
      Why a chapter
      If a page suffice
      Why a page
      If a paragraph suffice
      Why a paragraph
      If one line suffice
      And to conclude
      Why a line
      If Just one word adequate

      • I sincerely doubt that the happy coincidence has occurred that you, as a native Gaelic speaker, are both poor at writing English and that you are reasonably competent at using a computer. Correct me if I am wrong but I think the pool of people who speak only Gaelic is small and remote. I don’t believe that any of them would also be in the habit of popping up randomly on Defence sites and spouting CCP propaganda.

        • The pool of people still alive who only speak Gaelic is Unknown but no doubt very very few in number
          However your writing re Gaelic convinces me that you are almost totally devoid of Gaelic Culture
          One of which is to remain silent when confronted with such ignorance
          Consequently Silence tis all that you shall have from myself and for you that’s such a shame as I could Impart many a gem of Ancient Celtic culture
          Such is the biggest of all Insults that a Gael imparts

          • Ok then, are you Scottish Gaelic or Irish? I agree, I know little personally of Gaelic people.
            The quote you are looking for is “Whereof one cannot speak, thereof one must remain silent”. A very apt proverb for this conversation.

      • You’re as much a native Gaelic speaker as I am in Serbo- Croat. Stick to your deep fried pangolin or half cooked bat satay.

        You should apologise to the world for coronavirus.

  9. You forget that the Chinese government also have the ability to force people to work unreal hours and days, enabling the capacity for such high build rates, the West doesn’t allow this, the labour laws here are completely different to the labour laws in the far East…

    Oh and also, you’re wrong, in 2021, the Taiwanese government held a vote regarding the request for NATO connection and defence, the response was a mass vote for support, in other words, Taiwan doesn’t want to be a part of ‘The Greater China’ and frankly I don’t blame them. So whilst China might want Taiwan, Taiwan doesn’t return the favour…

    Also I would direct your attention to the trial Wargames conducted by the PLAN, where in their 3 tests, they lost every one of them, with a total loss of 78+ ships, and a loss of 62% to their capital and command ships, furthermore, is became apparent during those trials, the Chinese government was unsuccessful in taking Taiwan… So best of luck

  10. It is not for the people of mainland China to decide whether Taiwan is independent or not. Democracy means rule by the people of your country, not another. Look up any independence referendum in history. England didn’t vote on Scottish independence. The concept of voting might be difficult for the CCP to get their collective head around, but democracy is, in theory, the ideal form of government.

  11. Its obvious china is enemy of the world , a very aggressive china at that. And all nations should unite to stop china aggression accross all continents . The Royal navy should build more shops to defend against a future enemy called china

    • Greatest navy of all time? Look up the Opium Wars and the naval engagements involved there. Chinese warships were effectively built from paper and armed with fireworks. I’d say the greatest navy of all time was the RN circa 1880. At no other point in history has a single nation had complete control of any area of sea it chose across the globe.

    • The Chinese are peaceful because they are all OAPs. As a result of the one child policy China has entered a long period of population decline. I predict the next Pope will be Chinese. He will tell the Chinese to forget this belt and road stuff and focus on making babies and caring for their respected parents. I read somewhere that the Chinese leaders are great admirers of Edmund Burke. So we’ll all be fine then 🙂

  12. Great progress is being made , I would just love to see more hulls being ordered as 8 just isn’t enough for the tasks that will be required of them . The T31s and T31s if they ever get get off the ground will make up numbers but they won’t have the capabilities of the T26 , surely with the ‘ frigate factory ‘ now being built , unit costs should be much cheaper .

    • Not really I can’t see the cost coming down further, the 1st 3 cost £1200 million each, the 2nd Batch of 5 is down to @£840 million. BAe has now invested in a new hall and a very advanced steel fabrication facility which will help costs enormously but they need to recoup the cost. Inflation has hit the supply chain pretty hard, and I know the RAN / RCN adding bulk to certainly helped reduced some large item unit costs, but I can’t see further reductions.
      On the other hand BAe will have built in a margin and if they agreed to build more at the same price and the T83 is a delayed but developed version, I’d snap their hands off.😎
      The T45 class are all undergoing their PIP and upgrades but their hulls are very low mileage so I could see a case for extending them in service for 6/8 years and using the gap to build more to keep the yard busy.
      Its really difficult to compare costs with other countries as inflation, staffing costs, Taxes are all different but these compare well with others.
      I saw someone quoting the price of the FREMM class to the T26, but the T26 is a completely different level of sophistication and is very tailored for ASW.

      TBH building a super quiet, economic and efficient ASW hull would be a superb starting point for either a very high end GP Frigate or if stretched one very tasty Air warfare Destroyer.

      • “ The T45 class are all undergoing their PIP and upgrades but their hulls are very low mileage so I could see a case for extending them in service for 6/8 years and using the gap to build more to keep the yard busy.”

        Exactly this.

      •  
        If you include the £173 million Assessment Phase design, £859 million Demonstration Phase, £3,700 million for the 3 off Production Build plus the £233 overspend and guesstimated £100 million for GFE for each ship (includes the Mk45 5″ main gun etc) though have seen no MOD actual GFE figure, looking at approx. total of £5. 3 billion for Batch 1, so £1.75 billion for each ship so slightly higher than your figure of £1.2 billion. 
         
        The Batch 2 five ships you quote of £840 million each is purely the BAE build contract price and again excludes GFE which as far as know MOD has never released any figures for, so would expect the final price fully fitted out nearer £1 billion so way too expensive platform to be considered the basis for a high end GP or AWD.   
         
        Would note the two new 17,000t Japanese ASEV Aegis destroyers, 10,000t larger than the 6,900t T26, with the very large SPY-7 radar and 128 VLS cells recently quoted at $2.6 billion, £1 billion each, so think zero chance BAE could ever come up with a competitive price for a T26 platform and other much less expensive options need to be considered.

      • Yes the Type 26 is tailored for ASW ,but the FREMM in both French and Italian service are too – in some ways probably more so as they don’t have a Multi Mission Bay taking up space.

        • Yes some of them are ASW versions but there are also GP and AW versions. The lack of a Multi mission bay doesn’t detract from its ASW function. You need to understand the difference in size allows that option, the T26 is a generation newer than the FREMM design.
          This design incorporates a far more modern and efficient propulsion system, it will also be very quiet.
          Anechoic tiles on a surface ship is a first, I’ve never seen it on anything other than Subs.

  13. Has anyone noticed the creative photo-shopping going on with Google maps. The old wet basin is filled in and piles being placed for the new hall but no HMS Cardiff on the hard standing and no HMS Glasgow at Scotstoun. I mean I know they have stealth capabilities but seriously people, seventeen thousand tonnes of warship can’t just up and disappear.

    Can they??

      • Yes, that’s my point. They only started filling in the wet basin this year. It was after HMS Glasgow was moved to Scotstoun and HMS Cardiff’s two halves were both on the hard standing before they reached this stage and yet the basin is filled in but the ships are missing.

        • Interesting point.

          I suspect that Google may have been asked to not update certain specific areas.

          They often do blur out military sites anyway.

          • Yeah, which is why I called it creative photo-shopping. I did wonder because this is the same google maps that still has the beautiful picture of the B-2 that had run off the runway at Whiteman AFB in the states. I found the whole thing quite paradoxical.

  15. Great ships and will be superb for us. We just need another eight or ten of them! It is telling that the Aussies are taking four more than we are and the Canadians are taking seven more than we are, but they don’t have anything like the patrol requirement, overseas responsibilities and carrier protection roles that our RN do. I am not very sure the T31s/T32s will be capable enough to be of much real value in a peer conflict. Worth noting that one T31 will cost more or less the same as just two latest batch Eurofighter Typhoons: £250m. We are not going to be getting any kind of formidable warfighting asset for this money.

    I like the general purpose frigate idea for peacetime roles but lets not pretend they are of much value if anything kinetic actually kicks off. By all means buy a few to use as patrol assets, guardships and so on, but designate them as patrol and liaison vessels and not major surface combatants like the T26s are.

    We need a load more T26s and when the T45s come up for replacement we need a larger number of these air defence specialist vessels.

    Of course doing these things would require a sea change in the budgetary landscape for the RN and the incoming Labour government is more likely to just scrap the T32/31 projects, or worse, scrap the last couple of the T26s and go for more patrol vessels and so on, to save money and appease the hard left.

    Worrying times.

      • Nothing is set in stone as of yet as you know, Frank. But I think we are looking at a current era Type 21 general purpose patrol frigate sort of deal, if that makes sense. A smaller, cheaper, less formidable counterpart to the high end T26s, to undertake the myriad roles in peacetime where the T26 or 45 are overkill.

        All the signs seem to point to them being a development of the T31 which makes sense, (so same or similar hullform, same machinery, same sensors but perhaps different mission modules) but as far as I know that’s not been confirmed and I suspect may not be set in stone until the first of T31s hits the water and goes for trials. It’ll be smaller and significantly cheaper than a T26, likely have a Bofors 57 up front and its air defence missile system in Mk41 canisters. Beyond that we don’t really know. Large helideck. Towed array? Not sure but may well be “for but not with” sort of deal to save money. Ability to launch undersea drones and fast assault boats etc, yes almost definitely.

        My feeling is they will likely be cancelled shortly and we’ll just focus operationally on the T26/T31 duo, with vague promises from the civil serpents to use the funds to put into the T83s which are becoming very important hulls for what our future navy wants to do. I said at the time we needed three or four more T45s but what do I know. That ship has sailed, sadly.

        I could be wrong but I don’t think it is the right budgetary climate to be building three different classes of frigate at the same time when two are more or less identical in scope. The only way I see the T32s getting built is for them to be a development of the baseline T31 and a separate class in name only. But I guess we’ll see.

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