Artist’s impression of all 8 Type 26s at sea

An artist’s impression of all eight Royal Navy Type 26 frigates at sea (UK MoD)

DUBLIN — In a two day span this week, the UK Ministry of Defense (MoD) pledged funding of $7.9 billion to industry contractors for the second batch of Type 26 frigates and building of Fleet Solid Support ships, as part of a major modernization effort for the Royal Navy.

Announcing the $6 billion contract award to BAE Systems for City Class (as designated in Royal Navy service) frigates on Nov. 15, London said five new ships are to be manufactured and will lead the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare surface fleet. The vessels are in line to join a first batch of three Type 26 frigates already under construction in Govan, Scotland.

“Construction of all eight frigates is expected to be completed by the mid-2030s, with the first, HMS Glasgow, entering service by the end of 2028,” the MoD stated, the first time that timeline was made official.

The Type 26 fleet will go on to replace most of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates. The rest of the frigate fleet, used for “general duty,” is set to be succeeded by five Type 31 ships — the first of which has already gone into production in Rosyth, Scotland.

“Due to lessons in building the first batch of new frigates, plus improved assembly facilities — including a new undercover construction hall — the final five Type 26s will be built for around two-thirds the cost of the initial trio, and they will be built and delivered to the Fleet more quickly,” said the Royal Navy in its statement.

The statement also revealed officially that all of the Type 26 frigates are to receive Sea Ceptor missile refence systems, 5 inch medium caliber main guns, medium-range radars supplied from either Merlin or Wildcat helicopters, array sonars, and Mk41 vertical launch silos for missile systems. The ships will additionally be equipped with a “mission bay,” enabling them to carry “adaptable pods” for multirole operations including disaster relief, drones, and mine warfare.

The ships measure just short of 150 meters in length, offer a maximum speed of 26 knots, a range beyond 7000 nautical miles and will also be capable of carrying out counter piracy operations.