Norway opts for UK’s Type 26 frigates in ‘historic’ £10 billion defense deal

The Norwegian Government has selected the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for the acquisition of new vessels based on the Royal Navy’s Type 26 frigates, which will be ‘the largest’ Norwegian defense capability investment to date.

Since November last year, Norwegian authorities have considered France, Germany, the USA, and the UK as strategic partners on frigates. The process has been consulted through the expanded Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defense.

The UK, in its biggest ever warship export deal by value, will supply Norway with at least five Type 26 frigates designed for anti-submarine warfare in a deal worth £10 billion.

“Norway and the United Kingdom are close allies, with common interests and strong bilateral ties. I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision. This partnership enables Norway to reach the strategic objectives our Parliament set out in the current Long-Term Plan on Defence,” said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

“It has been a difficult choice. The four candidates, France, Germany, USA and the UK, have provided strong and competitive proposals. They are all close allies, and I wish to express my appreciation for a constructive process and dialogue. All four allies are strategic partners for Norway. The extensive cooperation on security and defence policy will continue at full strength with all of them.”

The strategic partnership with the United Kingdom will be accompanied by extensive industrial cooperation. In the draft agreement, the United Kingdom has guaranteed industrial cooperation with Norwegian industry equivalent to the total value of the acquisition.

Støre noted that the industry will play a vital role , especially in maintaining and keeping the vessels up to date.

“We have identified a wide range of industrial and technological areas of cooperation where Norwegian industry can compete for contracts,” he added.

The decision comes ahead of a new UK-Norway defense agreement that will strengthen Euro-Atlantic security while bringing the two countries’ defense industries closer together. A binding agreement that sets the framework for the strategic partnership will soon be finalized, according to the authorities. Once the agreement is signed, the two parties will enter into contract negotiations with the main British supplier, BAE Systems.

The British Type 26 frigates are warships specifically designed to detect, track down and combat submarines. The Norwegian and British vessels will be as identical as possible, and have the same technical specifications.

Each of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 units comes equipped with a range of advanced capabilities, including the Sea Ceptor missile defense system, a 5-inch medium caliber gun, flexible mission bay, Artisan 997 medium range radar, and towed array sonar. Moreover, they will be armed with the future cruise/anti-ship weapon (FC/ASW).

The Type 26 vessels are also designed to reduce environmental impacts with features such as a hydrodynamically designed hull to optimise fuel efficiency and a diesel engine emissions abatement, which reduces nitrogen oxide exhaust emissions. Type 26s will serve in the future Royal Navy surface fleet into the 2060s.

According to the officials, the Norwegian frigates will be equipped with anti-submarine capable helicopters. A decision on what type of helicopter the Norwegian frigates will be operating has not yet been made.

To remind, BAE Systems received a £3.7 billion contract back in 2017 for the construction of the first three vessels for the Royal Navy. In November 2022, the UK Ministry of Defense awarded a £4.2 billion contract to the shipbuilder to manufacture the next five Type 26 frigates.

In May this year, the Royal Navy named the first of eight Type 26 frigates, HMS Glasgow.

The design has achieved international export success, with nine Australian Hunter-class vessels and 15 Canadian surface combatants based on the Type 26 frigate design.

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