The Type 45 replacement project (Type 83) will also need to begin in the early 2030s to ensure continuity of the air-defence destroyer force. Assuming obsolete Type 23s will not be extended in service further, to get to the figure of 24 escorts would require all 8 x Type 26, 5 x Type 31 and 5 x Type 32 to have been delivered (plus the 6 Type 45 destroyers.). The Type 31 frigate programme must also deliver the 5 ships exactly on time as promised, and work on the first Type 32 must follow on immediately, construction starting several years before the last Type 31 is operational in 2030. This delivery schedule for Type 26 is more optimistic than those assumed previously but should be possible within the industrial capacity limitations at the Glasgow shipyards. This assumes the last five Type 26s would be laid down at about the rate of one every 18 months and ready for operations within about 6-7 years, considerably faster than the first batch. If the second batch of Type 26 frigates are built more quickly than the first 3 ships, then 24 by 2035 might be achievable. Our analyses suggest that to have 24 escorts in commission by 2030 would be virtually impossible. Sources within the RN say they aspire to have an escort fleet of 24 ships by “the early 2030s”, although 2035 is probably more realistic. A public commitment by the PM to some kind of warship building target can only be seen as positive. In recent years the MoD has become very shy about publishing Out of Service Dates (OSD) and In-Service Dates (ISD) for anything. To be fair to politicians who are not subject matter specialists, it must be difficult to remember precisely all the facts and figures covering every aspect of government off the top of your head. The PM clearly misspoke and meant the total number of both frigates and destroyers, this was later confirmed by the MoD press office. The PM’s statement is clearly wrong as we don’t have 15 frigates today – there are currently 13 in commission and there is no intention or capacity available to deliver 24 frigates by 2030. The overall programme cost is expected to be £2bn.Answering questions in Parliament in the wake of the Integrated Review announcements yesterday, the Prime Minister said “…we will have, by the end of this decade, 24 frigates as opposed to the 15 today.” Here we unpack that statement and look at the likely shape of the RN’s frigate and destroyer fleet over the next 15 years. Manufacture will begin in 2021 with an in-service date of 2027. The MoD signed a contract with Babcock for five ships in November 2019. These will be general-purpose frigates to replace the non-ASW Type 23s. The MOD says it expects to sign a contract for the second batch of five Type 26 frigates in the early 2020s. ![]() The first in the City Class, HMS Glasgow, has an in-service date of 2027. ![]() The ships will be built at BAE Systems’ shipyards on the Clyde. The Ministry of Defence has committed to buying eight Type 26 frigates and signed a contract for the first three in July 2017. These will replace the specialist anti-submarine warfare (ASW) Type 23 frigates currently in service. ![]() What was the Ministry of Defence already planning for?īefore Type 32, the plan was for only two new classes of frigates. In November 2020, the Ministry of Defence stated that the concept phase for the vessel had not yet been launched but added that the ship is currently envisioned as a “platform for autonomous systems”, used in roles such as anti-submarine warfare and mine countermeasures. Several MPs have tabled questions on the Type 32. Early speculation suggests they could be ‘batch II’ Type 31s, but not necessarily based on the Type 31 design. Nor was it mentioned in the review of the strategy published in November 2019. The Type 32 was not mentioned in the Government’s 2017 shipbuilding strategy, which overhauled the way the MOD procures warships for the Royal Navy. ![]() “Type 32 frigates, designed to protect territorial waters, provide persistent presence overseas and support our Littoral Response Groups.” The Defence Command Paper, titled ‘Defence in a Competitive Age’, describes the planned programme: He said: “We are going to develop the next generation of warships, including multi-role research vessels and Type 32 frigates.” The first mention of a new Type 32 frigate came in the Prime Minister’s 19 November statement. According to the recently released ‘Defencer Command Paper’, the Type 32 frigates will be designed to protect territorial waters, to provide persistent presence overseas and to support Littoral Response Groups.
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