Free Republic

As the U.S. Navy gets closer to issuing the final request for proposals for its future frigate competition, or FFG(X), one particularly notable design, BAE System's Type 26, has largely been absent from the discussion. It seems particularly curious given that the British-designed ship is well on its way to becoming one of the most popular warships in its class among some of America's closest allies, with 32 examples in various configurations on order for the U.K. Royal Navy, the Royal Australian Navy, and the Royal Canadian Navy. BAE did propose a variant of the Type 26 to the Navy...

Canada has chosen a BAE Systems and Lockheed Martin-led team as the “preferred bidder” for a potential contract worth more than $45 billion to build new frigates for the Royal Canadian Navy. The two major defense contractors had pitched a proposal centered on BAE’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship design, which it is already building for the United Kingdom and Australia. On Oct. 19, 2018, Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), the Canadian government’s internal services and administration arm, and Irving Shipbuilding, a Canadian firm that would actually build the ships, announced the decision in separate statements. BAE and Lockheed...

Arrowhead frigate design for Royal Navy Type 31E competition. Babcock Photo LONDON — Plans to build five Type 31e frigates for the Royal Navy have been thrown into disarray after Britain’s defense chiefs decided to pause the procurement competition. At least three industry teams are vying to build the new maritime security-focused platforms, the first of which was supposed to enter service when the late 1980s-era Type 23 frigates start to leave the fleet in 2023. With a fast-track acquisition contest heating up this summer, the Ministry of Defence has now abruptly halted the $1.64 billion effort due to what...

CANBERRA, Australia—BAE Systems has won a $26 billion contest to build nine anti-submarine frigates for Australia’s navy, as the U.S. ally seeks to bolster its navy against an Asian arms race and more assertive China. Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will announce Friday that a variation of the British arms maker’s Type 26 frigate has been chosen over competitors from Italy’s Fincantieri and Spain’s Navantia SA. The frigates will be built in Australia by local state-owned ASC Shipbuilding, which will become a BAE subsidiary for the duration. They will begin entering service in the late 2020s. “BAE’s Global Combat Ship...

[SYDNEY] Britain's defence secretary on Wednesday made a strong push to build Australia's next fleet of warships, saying the frigates he proposes are best placed to hunt "Russian and Chinese submarines" amid regional tensions. Australia earlier this year detailed a massive A$89 billion (S$95.8 billion) shipbuilding strategy, including constructing new submarines and frigates, in the nation's largest peacetime naval investment. The big increase in defence spending comes as Beijing flexes its muscle in the region through a military build-up in the contested South China Sea, and as tensions remain high on the Korean peninsula. Defence Secretary Michael Fallon made the...

After years of delays and debate, construction of the Royal Navy’s future Type 26 frigates has officially begun at a shipyard in Scotland. The full class of eight ships will provide a number of critically needed capabilities, including acting as additional escorts for the United Kingdom’s up-coming pair of supercarriers. The first of those flattops, HMS Queen Elizabeth, is in the middle of her first sea trials in the North Sea. On July 20, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon led a ceremony to cut the first steel for the lead ship at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard...

Type 26: The future backbone of the Royal Navy 05 April 2012 Brian Johnson, UK business development director at BAE Systems, answers questions about the Type 26 Global Combat Ship Can you provide some detail on the size and makeup of the team involved, their experience levels and the overall working approach to the design process? The team working on the Type 26 programme is currently around 250 strong. The team is centred in Bristol but a large design team is also based at BAE Systems' facility at Scotstoun in Glasgow. The team is a genuine 'rainbow' team comprising of...

Designing the Type 26 frigate 05 September 2011 | By Stuart Nathan The Royal Navy is going through one of the most tumultuous periods in its entire illustrious, five-century existence. It’s a time of conflicting emotions as the old flagship, Ark Royal, is sent into history before its time, according to some commentators while new Type 45 destroyers take their first trip down the Clyde and into service. The submarine fleet is also being refreshed, with the new Astute-class attack boats on sea trials. And nobody could fail to notice the massive sections of the new flagship, Queen Elizabeth, arriving...