Babcock and Danish naval consortium, Danske Flådeskibe K/S (DFS), have signed a Letter of Collaboration to develop a joint UK-Danish industrial approach to potential new frigates for the Royal Danish Navy.
Announced at DALO Industry Days in Herning, the agreement builds on a framework agreement established between Babcock and DFS in early 2026. DFS brings together OMT Group, Terma, PensionDanmark and Semco Maritime, and was established to offer an integrated Danish solution for the design, construction and through-life support of the Royal Danish Navy’s future vessels.
Since early this year, Babcock and DFS have been exploring how the company's frigate design and international programme experience can be combined with DFS’s Danish industrial capabilities and infrastructure. The letter of collaboration states that the parties collaborate on frigate solutions, as well as the development of a joint UK-Denmark industrial solution for the delivery of the programme and through-life of naval assets.
The agreement with DFS forms part of Babcock's broader engagement with Danish industry, including separate agreements announced at DALO Industry Days announced earlier.
The collaboration is intended to support the development of a long-term Danish naval shipbuilding capability through knowledge and technology transfer, construction and integration in Denmark, and sustained participation by Danish suppliers.
Sir Nick Hine, Babcock's Chief Growth Officer, said: ''Our new agreement with DFS, together with our growing partnerships across Danish industry, demonstrates our commitment to building the future together. We are offering Denmark far more than a ship. We are offering a genuine industrial partnership that puts Danish companies, Danish skills and Danish shipbuilding at the heart of a programme already founded on Danish innovation.''
Babckock estimates that its proposed industrial model could support around 2,000 direct and indirect jobs in Denmark.
''For DFS, this agreement is about ensuring that Denmark’s future frigates strengthen both the Royal Danish Navy and Denmark’s sovereign industrial capability. Together with Babcock, we can combine an internationally recognised frigate platform and programme experience with a strong Danish set-up for building, integrating and supporting the ships throughout their service life. Our ambition is clear: Denmark should have the responsibility, expertise and capacity at home to support its frigates from the outset and for decades to come,'' Hans Schneider, CEO of Danske Flådeskibe, said.
Babcock has also signed Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Danish technology companies, STORMBORN and CUBEDIN, to examine future hybrid naval capabilities and autonomous systems integration – supporting the company's vision for a hybrid Danish fleet where crewed ships and unmanned systems operate together.
A third MOU was also signed at DALO Industry Days between Babcock and SH Group, which will explore collaboration on ship and naval platform systems to further strengthen the UK-Denmark offering and maximise Danish industry involvement on platforms for and exported from Denmark.