British Prime Minister has announced the next phase in the Type 26 frigate program, to build five more ships for the Royal Navy.
A British shipyard has been awarded a £4.2 billion ($4.97 billion) contract to build the second batch of Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy.
Delivering on ambitions laid out in the National Shipbuilding Strategy Refresh earlier this year, the contract awarded to BAE Systems will support 1,700 British jobs over the next decade at BAE Systems sites in Govan and Scotstoun, Glasgow.
As part of the contract, BAE Systems has committed to invest £1.2 billion in the UK supply chain, supporting a further 2,300 jobs with more than 120 suppliers all over the UK.
Leading the Royal Navy’s anti-submarine warfare surface fleet, the five new City-class ships – HMS Birmingham, HMS Sheffield, HMS Newcastle, HMS Edinburgh and HMS London – will join the first three T26s already in build at Govan – HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast.
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.
Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We are investing in our fleet to ensure our Royal Navy maintains its world-leading capability to protect and defend our nation at sea. This design has already been successfully exported to Australia and Canada, its already proved itself as a world-class maritime capability, securing thousands of UK jobs and strengthening alliances with our allies.
“Supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs in Scotland, and more across the wider UK supply chain, this contract will continue to boost our British shipbuilding industry, galvanising the very best of British engineering, manufacturing and design.”
The ships will replace the bulk of the retiring Type 23 fleet, the Type 26 frigates will be flexible and advanced warships with the primary purpose of anti-submarine warfare, protecting the UK’s continuous at-sea nuclear deterrent and Maritime Strike Group.