Type 26 City class frigates
Glasgow (Govan and Scotstoun yards on the River Clyde) · 1998 (programme start) - 2028 (initial operating capability for first ship) · £5.51 billion (total for 8 units: Batch 1: £1.31bn for 3 units; Batch 2: £4.2bn for 5 units)
The judgement call
Account-gated at launchEvolution from Future Surface Combatant (FSC) to Global Combat Ship. - International partnerships for export success (Australia, Canada, Norway). - Slippage in commissioning date for the first ship from 2023 to late 2026.
Key engineering challenges
Designing a platform for advanced anti-submarine warfare while supporting air defence and general purpose operations. - Managing a complex international collaboration with Australia, Canada, and Norway for variants of the design. - Integrating advanced sensor systems and weapons capabilities. - Ensuring the ships can replace the Type 23 frigates and remain in service beyond 2060.
Project facts
- Client / owner
- Royal Navy
- Lead contractor
- BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships
- Lead designers
- BAE Systems Maritime – Naval Ships
- Project type
- new build
- Scale
- —
- Disciplines
- Naval architecture; anti-submarine warfare; air defence; systems engineering
- Standards & frameworks
- —
Sources: Wikipedia: Type 26 frigate (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_26_frigate) - BAE Systems: Global Combat Ship (https://www.baesystems.com/en-us/product/global-combat-ship)