The Royal Norwegian Navy will strengthen its anti-submarine warfare posture with British-built Type 26 frigates from BAE Systems. These ships will replace the Fridtjof Nansen class and, operating alongside allied fleets, will help contain russian Northern Fleet submarines close to their bases.
Oslo chose the British design over competing offers (including France's FDI) because it delivers greater capability. The deal covers at least five frigates with an estimated program value of about $13.5 billion, the largest maritime security investment in Norway to date.
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Type 26 is a high-end surface combatant that displaces about 6,900 tonnes and measures roughly 150 meters in length. The core armament includes 24 Mk 41 Vertical Launch System cells that can host a wide range of munitions, including area-air-defense and land-attack options (Tomahawk integration is feasible subject to fit).
Anti-submarine warfare is the defining mission. Each frigate uses the Thales S2087 (CAPTAS-4) towed array working with the Ultra Electronics Type 2150 bow sonar, providing long-range submarine detection in open-ocean conditions. An embarked ASW helicopter adds independent search and strike options.
Allied commonality is a major advantage. The Royal Navy is building eight Type 26 frigates. Canada has ordered 15 heavily modified variants officially named the River-class destroyers. Australia is procuring six Hunter-class ships, another national variant of the Type 26.
Unlike the Canadian and Australian builds, Norway's five ships will be constructed in the United Kingdom at BAE Systems' Clyde shipyards with minimal deviation from the baseline design. This approach reduces risk and supports schedule discipline.
Timelines are ambitious by current Western shipbuilding standards. Norway expects the first delivery in 2029. That is earlier than Canada's planned early-2030s introduction and well ahead of Australia's schedule, which does not expect first delivery before 2034.
The Royal Navy's third Type 26, HMS Belfast (laid down in 2021), is also slated around 2029, which raises the possibility of near-parallel handovers. BAE Systems aims to compress the build cycle to about 66 months in the coming years.
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