Rolls-Royce secures MBHS contract for UK’s Type 26 frigates

August 15, 2024, by Fatima Bahtić

Global power systems company Rolls-Royce has been awarded a contract to provide its mission bay handling system (MBHS) for the second batch of Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates.

The contract, signed with program prime BAE Systems, is for five MBHSs to be manufactured at Rolls-Royce’s Canadian Naval Handling Centre of Excellence in Peterborough, Ontario.

This new contract brings the total number of MBHSs awarded for the Type 26 program to eight, as the company was previously selected for three in the Royal Navy’s initial batch of frigates. The first complete system is scheduled for delivery later this summer.

“This is a huge win for Rolls-Royce in Canada and our team in Peterborough. Our Mission Bay Handling System is perfectly designed for modern naval operations, providing adaptable and flexible integration solutions suitable for a wide range of activities. Rolls-Royce is proud to bring this mission critical capability to the Type 26 programme and is committed to delivering for the UK Royal Navy,” Jessica Banks, Program Executive – Naval Handling Systems for Rolls-Royce Defence, said.

“Having been personally involved in the Mission Bay Handling System aspect of this programme from the beginning, it is a great achievement to get to this point. We have a superb piece of equipment unique to the UK Royal Navy that will significantly strengthen our capability. There has been a lot of effort and collaboration and the network this has brought together has been invaluable. I look forward to the future of installing and working on HMS Glasgow, then handing over to the Navy to prove its full capabilities and functionality,” Ian Brown, Defence Equipment and Support, UK Ministry of Defence stated.

The UK Ministry of Defense awarded a £4.2bn contract to BAE Systems to manufacture the next five City-class Type 26 frigates for the Royal Navy in 2022.