Work progresses on first Royal Navy Type 26 frigate

Future HMS Glasgow, the first of the new class of Royal Navy Type 26 frigates, is beginning to resemble a ship as her manufacturing progresses on the Clyde.

The new City-class ships will be the successor to the Duke-class Type 23 frigates currently in service.

She’ll comprise more than 60 blocks in her finished form, and will be pieced together in two sections: first the forward part of the frigate, followed by the stern.

Once the two parts are joined on the slipway outside the shed, the main mast and bridge section will be lifted into place and the mostly-complete frigate will be taken downstream for fitting out at BAE’s yard on the north bank of the Clyde at Scotstoun.

While work on the £1.2bn warship has been under way since mid-July 2017 at BAE Systems’ yard in Govan, Glasgow is not expected to start trials before 2025 and enter service before 2027.

“You can now stand inside a Type 26 as the zones come together and get a real sense of HMS Glasgow as she takes shape,” Vice Admiral Chris Gardner, the new Chief of Materiel (Ships) at the Defence Equipment and Support organisation, said.

Three ships have been ordered from BAE: Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast, while the remaining five vessels in the class have been named: Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and finally London.