Norway has chosen the United Kingdom as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates, selecting the British-built Type 26 in what Oslo says will be its largest ever defence investment.
Deliveries to the Royal Norwegian Navy are expected to begin in 2030.
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said the decision marked “a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries” and confirmed that the UK was recommended as partner by Norway’s Chief of Defence. France, Germany and the United States had also been considered.
The frigates will be near-identical to those entering service with the Royal Navy, with full anti-submarine warfare capability and the option to operate manned or unmanned helicopters. Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik noted that shared platforms will enable “joint training of personnel, and perhaps even use Norwegian and British crew interchangeably.”
Industrial cooperation is central to the agreement, with the UK guaranteeing Norwegian industry involvement equivalent to the full value of the acquisition. Støre said this would allow Norwegian companies to compete for contracts in maintenance, upgrades and wider defence projects.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of increasing Russian submarine activity in the High North. Støre framed the deal as vital to NATO’s ability to secure the North Atlantic, saying “together we will acquire frigates to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy… strengthening our and NATO’s ability to patrol and protect the maritime areas in the High North.”
A binding intergovernmental agreement with London will be signed before Oslo enters negotiations with BAE Systems, the prime supplier. A final investment decision will return to the Storting once price and delivery schedules are agreed.
I hope this solidifies the UKs proper role in NATO.. defending the high north and Atlantic.
Whoop, whoop! Great news for BAE, the Royal Norwegian Navy & the Royal Navy. Interoperability will our closest and one of our most important naval allies will make a great contribution to closing the North Atlantic & Norwegian Sea to Russian submarines. Obvious questions: How does this effect the build rate of RN T26’s? How many are the Norwegians intending to buy? How much work (and profit) will be going into Glasgow yards?
BTW, perhaps sufficient economies of scale can be achieved that a couple more for RN service are on the cards??
Whoop, whoop! Great news for BAE, the Royal Norwegian Navy & the Royal Navy. Interoperability with our closest and one of our most important naval allies will make a great contribution to closing the North Atlantic & Norwegian Sea to Russian submarines. Obvious questions: How does this effect the build rate of RN T26’s? How many are the Norwegians intending to buy? How much work (and profit) will be going into Glasgow yards?
BTW, perhaps sufficient economies of scale can be achieved that a couple more for RN service are on the cards??
Possibly the wrong question?
The 13 will be delivered in roughly the timescale of the 8.
So NATO will be up on its capacity to deal with marauding, antisocial Bears….which is what actually matters is the increase in eNATO capabilities.
This can then be relayed to the Tangerine Tinted One that eNATO is actually doing something real by spending on 1st class ASW kit.
Bear in mind that Norway also has P8 and F35A [Ok we have B but it is the same sensor fit] so it is a far more seamless alliance that you might think at first glance. I would not be too surprised if Norway didn’t buy some F35B TBH.
& Norway’s P8s have Stingray torpedoes. Meanwhile, we have Naval Strike Missiles courtesy of Kongsberg.
To misquote the main man, “So good you posted it twice.” !
Terrific news.
The devil is in the detail. States at least 5 frigates but to my mind £10 billion should fund 7-8 frigates unless the Norwegians are getting a Canada style type 26 with Aegis and enlarged Mk41 vls? Once you add Aegis the price rapidly goes north as the USN has found out with it’s delayed, over budget Constitution class frigates (FREMM+ Aegis)
Absolutely brilliant news. Great country, great people and a solid ally. Our relationship with Scandanavian countires, especially Norway, is a cornerstone of NATO.
Great news. Norway will almost certainly buy 5 from us.
Good to hear. Near identical? I would hope for a better radar. However, what about missiles? Are Norway going with CAMM? If not, will they go for RAN 32 mk41 configuration?
The Norwegian requirement was for a ship as identical as possible to the ships being procured by the partner nations. The specific quote from the press release is as follows:
‘The Norwegian and British vessels will be as identical as possible, and have the same technical specifications.’
Furthermore, the designs and proposals showcased by BAE all retained both Artisan and CAMM in the same configuration as the RN.
The Artisan is a decent radar, far better than it gets credit for. It successfully tracked short and medium range ballistic missiles during trials onboard HMS Monmouth in the Gulf (according to BAE), and operate in a radar band with a particular strength at picking out small and stealthy targets.
Tend to agree Artisan is pretty good. It was chosen by Taiwan to upgrade 6 frigates I think.
Interesting….if identical to RN for fit and finish then £10 billion should purchase 7- 8 frigates not 5.
There’s more in the deal than just the ships, but also profit
Near identical means what it says really. I’d be shocked if they have different radars or silos. They’ll probably have a different helicopter.
I think that’s better anyway, it’s an ASW frigate. They can add more air defence capability with a fleet wide upgrade programme. That’s more efficient than differentiating now.
Actually – no. It is always cheaper to do things in build then to go back later, unless you have built with the intention of installing later (run the cabling, left the required space etc). Removing CAMM specific silos for non specific silos like mk41 is going to come with a penalty (left over silos is just the start). Free lunches are rare.
RE the different helicopter, Norway has indicated previously that they would follow the parent country in the helo too as part of the strategic partnership.
They are replacing the entire ASW system really, not just the frigates, and they already operate AW101 in the SAR role.
Great news.The Norwegians appear to have made a much more sensible choice than the US and Australian navy’s. Buy an existing design, chuck it in the blender, and some extra parts, then wonder why it is over budget.
Agree the USN wanted a polyvalent high numbers frigate asap that could overmatch PLAN type 54s and escort amphibious and civilian shipping across the Pacific and Atlantic. What the Constitution class has morphed into is a mini Arleigh Burke complete with Aegis and a now $2.4 billion price tag. Hardly a polyvalent unit. Should have just stuck with the ASW Fremm design which would have done the job required.
Ditto Aussie Hunter class. Same story. Enlarged, expensive radar suite added. Result much less affordable and reduced numbers.
Steel is cheap. I think get the ships in the water and in service. As long as the type 26 has adequate growth potential or wide margin (which it does) it can be progressively upgraded.
Fantastic news, another example of British design excelence getting back to the pinicle of World class cutting edge state of the art defence production.
Now then, Time to open an English facility to build T83, T32, T91 ?
Looking likely! Construction of the extra T26’s continuing until the late 2030’s.
Great news. Now, will the RNoAF buy AW101s to operate from them? That would give them the best ASW capability and commonality with their SAR fleet. On the other hand they could opt for the cheaper MH-60R already chosen for operation with the Norwegian Coast Guard. I think we can expect to see NSM and perhaps JSM launchers and eventually 3SM, whatever is finally delivered for the RN’s FC/ASW requirement. I wonder whether they’ll want a torpedo launcher? When was the last time a proper warship (not an OPV) was built in the UK for export?
I would expect MH-60R as per the coast guard. NSM is a given (a change already). JSM unlikely as it is mainly an air launch weapon. Others have gone for a torpedo launcher on T26, so possibly. 3SM ? I assume you meant SM3? Wrong radar & CMS if that is the case.
3SM (Super Sonic Strike Missile) is a joint development between Kongsberg and MBDA Deutschland for a 1000 km range anti-ship weapon. Service entry is planned for about a decade’s time. You’re right about JSM: VL-JSM was cancelled last year, but it passed me by.
I think Norway’s buy of MH-60R was a distress purchase to replace their NH90s. My guess is that Norway are keeping it simple and signing up to the complete RN package. Standardisation on Merlin would give eNATO a fleet of 13 interchangeable ASW ships in the high north. Got to be the way to go.
This is such good news. Hopefully it might mean the T26 becoming cheaper and HMG squeezes another for the Royal Navy (a pipe dream, I know.
Fabulous news! Hugely significant order which validates so much that is good about UK manufacturing and defence. It will be a great relief to govt, vindicating as it does a big piece of the strategy for the economy. Hopefully the package will include Merlins built at Yeovil too; which I suspect might not be unrelated to the NMH deal.
Great news.The Norwegians appear to have made a much more sensible choice than the US and Australian navy’s. Buy an existing design, chuck it in the blender, and some extra parts, then wonder why it is over budget.
T26 is already ridiculously cheap for what it is, the ability to bring costs down further and expand its use amongst allies can only be a good thing.
Turns out the choices for T26 and T31 have both been spot on.
Do think we need to look at how T26 turns into T45 replacement to get maximum value out of what has been a 20yr plus gestation period
Hell no. Can’t you see the Type 26 lesson that’s right in front of your face?? That a new design is the way to go? And not following the advice of all those nitwits that said all the UK needed was a warmed up Type 23. Jeesh.