BAE Systems Lands Norwegian Frigate Deal

NORWAY has selected the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for the procurement of at least five Type 26 frigates primarily manufactured by BAE Systems for the Royal Norwegian Navy.

Also known as the Global Combat Ship (GCS) programme, the US$13.5 billion deal is the UK’s “biggest ever warship export deal by value” and “one of Norway’s largest investments in defence capability”, as the Navy seeks to up its anti-submarine warfare (ASW) game. The ships are to be built at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards in Govan, representing a big win for the British defence industry.

The Norwegian government also specifically requested that their Type 26 frigates will be as similar as possible to the Royal Navy’s own Type 26 vessels, designated the City-class frigates. Built for the sole purpose of detecting, tracking and destroying enemy submarines, the ships are slated to be delivered from 2030 onwards.

According to Norway’s defence minister Tore O. Sandvik, the decision stemmed from a desire to increase interoperability to a maximum, drive down costs and ease joint maintenance.

He added that it could create the opportunity to use Norwegian and British crews interchangeably and joint training of personnel, as part of the larger framework of the countries’ strategic partnership.

Among the ship’s armaments include a medium-caliber gun, MBDA’s Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles, and BAE’s medium-range Artisan 3D radar capable of detecting small and fast targets. The UK has eight City-class vessels on order while the GCS programme also covers the Royal Australian Navy’s (RAN) six Hunter-class frigates and the Royal Canadian Navy’s (RCN) 15 River-class destroyers.–shp/adj/dl (Pix:BAE)