Click here - to select or create a menu

Naval News

DSEI Japan 2023
  • News
  • Event News
    • SNA 2023
    • Euronaval 2022
    • Indo Pacific 2022
    • Sea Air Space 2022
    • DIMDEX 2022
  • Interviews
  • Videos
  • Advertising
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
Home» News»Royal Navy’s First Type 26 Frigate HMS Glasgow More Than Half Built
Construction of the future HMS Glasgow, the lead ship of the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 frigates, is advancing at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard; seen here is the ship’s forward section. Royal Navy picture.

Royal Navy’s First Type 26 Frigate HMS Glasgow More Than Half Built

HMS Glasgow – the first of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates – is now more than half-way through construction at BAE Systems Govan shipyard.

Xavier Vavasseur 30 Jan 2020

The next generation frigate is being built in numerous sections, or ‘units’, with the fore and aft sections of the 8,000-tonne warship being built separately. From there, once complete, the units are wheeled to the ship block and outfit hall where they are joined together and pipes and cabling linked up.

Just over half of HMS Glasgow is now complete or under construction, out of eight planned vessels in the class (all are named, three have been ordered, two are in build at Govan – HMS Cardiff is No.2).

Once the fore and aft sections are complete they will be joined on the hard in front of the block hall, before the bridge/main mast are craned into place.

The completed ship will then be ‘launched’ by being lowered into the Clyde via a barge, then towed downstream to BAE’s yard at Scotstoun to complete fitting out.

About Type 26 Frigate

The Type 26 City-class frigates for the Royal Navy will replace the current anti-submarine warfare Type 23 frigates and provide advanced protection to the Continuous at Sea Deterrent and Queen Elizabeth Class aircraft carriers and offer unrivalled anti-submarine warfare capability.

Each Type 26 will be equipped with a range of capabilities including the Sea-Ceptor missile defence system, a 5-inch medium calibre gun, an embarked helicopter, medium range radar, powerful bow and towed array sonars, helicopter-launched torpedoes and a design which makes them extremely difficult for enemy submarines to detect. They will be designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare, including complex combat operations, counter piracy, humanitarian aid and disaster relief work.

Its flexible design will also allow its weapon systems to be adapted throughout its lifespan to counter future threats. The Type 26 benefits from the latest advances in digital technologies, including 3D and virtual reality, which ensures that the ship’s design is refined earlier in the process.

The first three ships, HMS Glasgow, HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast, were ordered for £3.7 billion. HMS Edinburgh, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle and London will form the second batch of Type 26 warships.

The first Type 26 warship, HMS Glasgow, will enter service in the mid-2020s. Designed for a service life of at least 25 years, the Type 26 frigates will serve in the future Royal Navy surface fleet into the 2060s. Both Australia and Canada have now chosen the Type 26 design as the baseline for their respective warship programmes.

The Type 26 manufacture Batch 1 contract was signed in June 2017. This will deliver the first three ships to the Royal Navy and includes the necessary modifications to the Govan and Scotstoun shipyards. The procurement of Batch 2 will be subject to a separate approval and contract which is expected to be awarded in the early-2020s

Video interview with BAE Systems during DSEI 2019 providing an update on the Type 26 program

In addition to the Royal Navy, export variants of the Type 26 have already been selected by the Royal Australian Navy (Hunter-class) and Royal Canadian Navy (CSC).

BAE Systems HMS Glasgow Royal Navy Type 26 2020-01-30
Tags BAE Systems HMS Glasgow Royal Navy Type 26
Facebook Twitter Stumble linkedin Pinterest More

Authors

Posted by : Xavier Vavasseur
Xavier is based in Paris, France. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management Information Systems and a Master of Business Administration from Florida Institute of Technology (FIT). Xavier has been covering naval defense topics for nearly a decade.

Related Articles

Royal Navy’s Mine-hunting ‘mother ship’ arrives in Plymouth

Royal Navy’s Mine-hunting ‘mother ship’ arrives in Plymouth

Naval News Staff 30 Jan 2023
A specialist ship bought to support Royal Navy mine-hunting operations – a mother ship to launch drones to find and destroy undersea threats – has arrived in Plymouth.
War in Ukraine: Western Navies See Lessons from Strategic to Tactical Levels

War in Ukraine: Western Navies See Lessons from Strategic to Tactical Levels

Dr Lee Willett 27 Jan 2023
The lessons emerging from the war in Ukraine for Western navies range from the strategic to the tactical levels, the chiefs of the French, UK, and US navies told the recent inaugural Paris Naval Conference.
Navy chiefs stress need to accelerate technology delivery to speed up operator decision making

Navy chiefs stress need to accelerate technology delivery to speed up operator decision making

Dr Lee Willett 26 Jan 2023
The chiefs of the US Navy, Royal Navy and French Navy discussed technology developments at the inaugural Paris Naval Conference held on January 18, 2022.

Advertisement

Advertisement

Legal / Privacy Policy
About Us
Contact Us

Copyright © 2022 Naval News
All Rights Reserved