![]() This is not really the fault of the Type 26 platform design itself, but partly the result of the requirement for a more ambitious air defence weapon and sensor fit as well as serious long-term structural weakness in Canadian industry and defence procurement procedures. The CSC project is also facing delays and apparently ballooning costs. ![]() This is down to design issues with integration of the US-made combat system, CEAFAR 2 radar, Seahawk helicopter, Australian communications systems and local legislative requirements. The Australian project is reportedly facing a delay of up to 18 months to the start of work on the first vessel, although progress on the industrial facilities for construction are well advanced. ![]() The export variants are based on the same hull and propulsion design and the RN Type 26 but with significant variations in weapon, sensor and combat systems. ![]() HMS Glasgow is effectively a prototype for a project to build up to 32 warships, which includes 12 Australian Hunter class and 15 Canadian Surface Combatants (CSC). If this is the case and the project remains on track, then the RN can expect the ship to be handed over sometime in 2024, becoming fully operational in 2026. The June 2021 National Audit Office report says that the Type 26 programme team reported in March 2021 that it forecasts achieving the in-service date for HMS Glasgow 12 months sooner than agreed at the time of going on contract. Once floated off, the ship will be towed back up the Clyde to Scotstoun to begin the fitting out phase which will be followed by the test and commissioning phase and builders initial sea trials. As the waters of the Clyde are too shallow to allow the barge to submerge sufficiently to float off a large frigate, it will be towed downriver to Glen Mallan which provides a secure and sheltered location with deep water for this operation. Glasgow will be rolled off the hard standing onto a submersible barge in the second half of 2022. The ultra-quiet gearboxes were developed and built especially for the Type 26 frigate by David Brown Santaslo in Huddersfield. It can be assumed that subsequent ships will have their gearboxes in place before rollout. This has meant the ship is being cut open on the hardstanding and the gearboxes will be ’skidded’ onto position before being sealed up again. An issue with the propulsion gearboxes meant they were delivered too late to be placed into the hull sections before the compartments were closed and sealed into the hull. The forward and stern sections of HMS Glasgow were rolled out of the build hall at Govan in April and May respectively and have been joined on the hardstanding. The MoD says funds for the second batch of ships have been allocated in future spending plans but will only make the vague commitment to placing orders in the “early 2020s”. Sensibly, some orders for long-lead items for the final five vessels have been placed well in advance in order to sustain the industrial supply chain. HMS Glasgow is now nearing structural completion four years after work began, while the first steel was cut for HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast in August 2019 and June 2021 respectively. The Type 26 frigate project will ultimately deliver eight of the finest anti-submarine combatants in the world, but progress is slow. Here we summarise recent news and developments concerning the Royal Navy’s future frigate programmes.
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