The Prince and Princess of Wales are set to visit Glasgow this week for the naming ceremony of HMS Glasgow, the UK’s newest Type 26 anti-submarine frigate, at BAE Systems’ shipyard in Scotstoun.

The ceremony, scheduled for Thursday, May 22, will see Princess Kate take part in the traditional naming ritual by smashing a bottle of whisky against the ship’s hull. As the ship’s Sponsor since 2021, Kate will be fulfilling the ceremonial role that marks the vessel’s official entry into the Royal Navy.

Prince William and Kate Middleton’s visit to Glasgow marks their first high-profile royal engagement in Scotland following their recent 14th wedding anniversary. The royal couple will board the frigate after the ceremony, meeting representatives from BAE Systems who have overseen the ship’s construction, as well as Royal Navy personnel who will discuss the frigate’s future capabilities.

HMS Glasgow is the first of the Type 26 frigates being constructed as part of a programme to replace the Type 23 fleet, focusing on anti-submarine warfare, air defence, and general-purpose operations. The vessel features advanced systems such as the Sea Ceptor anti-air missile system, a 5-inch naval gun, and the capability to carry both Wildcat and Merlin helicopters.

As part of the visit, William and Kate will also tour BAE Systems’ Shipbuilding Academy, where they will meet apprentices and graduates, highlighting the continued investment in skilled jobs within the UK defence sector.

HMS Glasgow represents a big step forward in the Royal Navy’s capabilities. Designed to safeguard the UK’s nuclear deterrent and aircraft carriers, the frigate boasts a range of over 7,000 nautical miles and speeds in excess of 26 knots. Equipped with advanced sonar systems and a flexible mission bay, the vessel is primed for multi-mission roles in the North Atlantic and beyond.

The ship’s propulsion system, featuring a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine and four MTU diesel generators, reflects a CODLOG (Combined Diesel-Electric or Gas) configuration, enabling efficient long-distance patrolling and rapid acceleration when needed.

Following the ceremony, the ship will continue its fitting-out phase, with commissioning expected in the coming years.

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37 COMMENTS

  1. I can’t believe they’re going to brake a bottle of whisky on the hull.

    What a waste.

    French champagne was always good enough in the past,

    Failing that a bottle of Buckfast would symbolise the strong links between Glasgow and England.

    But please for the love of god don’t go breaking a single malt on the hull just to pour into the Clyde.

    Whisky should only enter the Clyde via ingestion

    😀

    • I was going to suggest Port Dundas grain, seeing as it’s local, but it has been closed down for over a decade! However, there’s a malt distillery I didn’t know across the river in Hillington called The Glasgow Distillery, less than a mile from the ships. Founded in 2012, the year after Port Dundas closed, it should be perfect. If someone from the distillery isn’t lobbying to get that used, they’d have to be barmy!

  2. Only eight years from being laid down. We’re obviously working flat out.

    Good to see the Prince and Princess though. They are good people.

  4. Once again Great Britain leads where others can only follow, what other country can combine the finest ingredients to produce such a spectacle of pomp, pop and power.

    “Rule Britannia, Britannia rules the waves” so on and so forth.

      • “Pomp”, is there a better more respected country with such revered royalty ?
        “Pop”, is there anything finer than Scottish Whiskey ?
        “Power” is there a finer Frigate anywhere in the world ?

        Some would say that “Snorting” wasps is idiotic.

        • Snorting wasps is not recommended – which is often discussed on the ‘UK Snorting Journal’ site, but I was banned from that site for raising UK Defence issues, so I come here now.

  6. Beautiful – a work of art. Put your hands together for the engineers, designers and shipwrights of Scotland, BAE, RR, David Brown and many others.
    👏👏👏👏

    • Absolutely and Yes, lets all give a round of applause to recognise the sheer expertise and workmanship this unified country still has in abundance.

      “Long may it continue through the trials and tribulations of time and history”.

    • I agree they will be superb ships.

      The fact they were ordered 15 years late shouldn’t take away from the massive achievement that T26 and T45 are.

      To produce the premier AAW Destroyer and ASW Frigate is no mean feat.

      Also the massive design export success of T26 and T31 is a beautiful thing….ooops that stared to sound Trumpian….

  10. Great news. Thinking about merlin, wildcat is it not about a time thoughts of what replaces these helicopters is happening? Maybe it will be new build Merlin’s. Whatever comes, drones is probably going to be a payload, control option.
    Wildcat perhaps has longer service than merlin left in it.

    • I honestly think the small ship flight will still be a requirement, drones will be an adjunct to the small ship flight not a replacement. What I can envisage is the small ship fight becomes the command and control node for the drones.. essentially you don’t want your warship radiating in a high threat encounter so it cannot be the command and control node, without potentially compromising itself.. so the small ship flights does the command and control.

    • Some thoughts. Is the T31 slated to carry Wildcat or Merlin? Would a Merlin HC4 or perhaps a NMH naval AW149 + the seaboats give a T31 a useful amphibious raiding capability?

  11. We will all be dead before Norway gets one… The yanks will be on Mars before she tries her 5 inch.

  13. The Princess of Wales hasn’t been Kate Middleton for a long time. This blog should know that.

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