With the recent steel-cutting ceremony for HMS Sheffield, the fifth Type 26 frigate, there are now eight Royal Navy frigates under construction in Scotland.
This milestone underscores Scotland’s importance as a centre for advanced shipbuilding.
The current builds include five Type 26 frigates—HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff, HMS Belfast, HMS Birmingham, and HMS Sheffield—and three Type 31 frigates—HMS Venturer, HMS Active, and HMS Formidable.
These two classes represent the backbone of the Royal Navy’s future surface fleet.
The Type 26 frigate, also known as the City-class, is a class of advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels being built for the Royal Navy. Designed as part of the Royal Navy’s modernisation efforts, the Type 26 is intended to replace the ageing Type 23 frigates, particularly in the ASW role. Each ship in this class has a displacement of around 8,000 tonnes and measures approximately 149.9 metres in length. The Type 26 is characterised by its focus on stealth, featuring a hull design and noise-dampening measures to minimise acoustic signatures, making it highly effective in detecting and countering submarines.
In terms of capabilities we can expect, the Type 26 frigate is equipped with an array of advanced sensors and weapons. It is armed with a 5-inch Mk 45 naval gun, providing long-range fire support, and is equipped with the Sea Ceptor missile system for area air defence. For ASW, the frigate carries powerful sonar systems, including a towed array, and can deploy anti-submarine torpedoes. The Type 26’s mission bay is designed to support a range of operations, from humanitarian aid to counter-piracy, allowing for the deployment of unmanned systems and small boats. Additionally, the flight deck is capable of supporting a range of helicopters, including the Merlin, which enhances its ASW and reconnaissance capabilities. With its combination of advanced systems and modular design, the Type 26 is intended to be a versatile platform that can adapt to a variety of operational demands.
The Type 31 frigate, also known as the Inspiration-class, is a class of general-purpose warships being built for the Royal Navy. Developed under the Royal Navy’s “National Shipbuilding Strategy,” the Type 31 aims to provide a versatile platform, complementing the more advanced Type 26 frigates. Each vessel in the class is designed to displace around 5,700 tonnes, with a length of approximately 138 metres. The design focuses on modularity, allowing for adaptability in various roles, including maritime security, disaster relief, and low-intensity operations, alongside its core warfighting capabilities.
In terms of capabilities that’ll be fitted, the Type 31 frigate will be equipped with a range of sensors and weapon systems suitable for multi-role operations. It will be fitted with the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile system, providing area defence against airborne threats. Additionally, it is capable of deploying a range of smaller boats and unmanned vehicles from a spacious mission bay, enabling flexibility in tasks like boarding operations or mine countermeasures. The Type 31’s flight deck can accommodate a medium-sized helicopter, such as the Wildcat or Merlin, further enhancing its reach and capabilities for anti-submarine warfare, search and rescue, and reconnaissance missions.
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Great that 8 being built, but is it too much to ask that some are actually finished soon?
Need to speed up build, especially if Norway are going to take some 26
You would think they could speed up delivery with the current world situation. You don’t need a defence review to start that.
No you need a review of the defence review and then a review of the review of the review by Treasury.
If you are lucky something might happen sometime…
The real problem with speeding up is the gap for T83 which is unfinished. So if you move T26 fowards you need to fund T83. The only solution to speeding up T26 is more T26 from Norway.
To speed up T31 is harder as they are not hitting announced milestones. So I suspect the issues are more fundamental and to do with lack of warship build experience. But if you do speed it up then you need follow in work which means exports or UK Government ££££.
I agree the situation has got surreal now with T23s literally falling apart.
I suspect that we will not see an increase in funding for speeding up programmes until something happens that directly affects the public. Ukraine has to a great extent dropped off the press pages, and most people weren’t that interested in the first place. “A far away place of which we know little” was I think the quote from Chamberlain in 1938 about Czechoslovakia. Most of the Foreign Office appear to have their fingers in their ears hoping it will go away. And that attitude turned out well then and is not changing now.
Wait until someone tries a bit more hybrid warfare and cuts a few transatlantic cables on a Saturday afternoon, so that all of a sudden you can’t get Netflix or Disney with your evening take away. Or a couple of offshore wind farms suddenly drop off line on a cold night, and the whole grid gets a fit of the conniptions. Then you might get some more pertinent questions being asked.
Possibly a stupid question but could the Type 31s take over as MCM motherships? Stock up on AUV/ROV disposal systems that won’t take a huge amount of space up, a few divers. Seems like a decent way to have a ship capable of doing most duties that can be forward deployed and leave the T45/T26 for carrier duty.
The wider issue is that because there were no new ships built for so long, we’re funding this massive surge in capacity, and as soon as these frigates are finished and the Type 83 is finished, the same thing will happen and the industry will just dry up again because we won’t be ordering anything else.
Its a shame we’ve gotten to this point, as if we had a more incremental, continual build process the industry could be more robust, supporting small surges in demand with a decent baseline demand, but as it stands demand drops to zero, then there a massive surge.
Hard to believe the waste of money involved.
Take a lesson from the natural world (non human). Over millenia, almost no creatures have evolved to exist in the surface of large open bodies of water.
Why?
Because anything residing in this environment becomes easy prey. And the penny doesn’t drop that mankind is back to being it’s own enemy.
The lesson has always been, carry a big sword but try not to use it. The only big swords these days are missiles and drones and only submarines represent some sort of reliable platform.
Another Navy saying, there are two types of naval vessels, submarines and targets.
Yet more targets.