Photo: BAE Systems
First introduced in 1998, the Royal Navy’s Global Combat Ship program is slowly starting to yield results. This week, the builder of the program’s City Class Type 26 frigates, BAE Systems, rolled out the forward section of the first member of the family, the HMS Glasgow.
Named so after the Scottish city where it is built, the frigate is supposed to replace once ready the Type 23 ships currently in use and will take on defense roles against submarines and aircraft, but also general-purpose operations.
Construction of the Glasgow began in 2017, and even if the Royal Navy announced a year ago the ship is halfway finished, it’s only now that BAE Systems reached the milestone.
The section that rolled out on the hardstand to be paired with the aft section contains the ship’s bridge, operations room, and accommodation spaces. It took the BAE team 90 minutes to move the mammoth to its designated location.
"The Type 26 is a highly capable ASW warship designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare and will serve at the heart of the Royal Navy's surface fleet for decades to come,” Pat Browning, the Type 26 program Team Leader at Defence Equipment and Support, said in a statement.
"The roll out of the forward section of HMS Glasgow; the first of the Type 26 class, hails a landmark moment for this cutting-edge vessel and a huge step forward for the program.”
According to the available info, the HMS Glasgow should enter operations with the Royal Navy sometime in 2023. It will then be followed by the HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast and five others whose construction is yet to begin.
Like all the others in its family, the HMS Glasgow will be equipped with the Sea Ceptor missile defense system, a 5-inch medium caliber gun, a flexible mission bay, the Artisan 997 medium-range radar, and towed array sonars. Chinook-sized helicopters will be capable of landing on the flight deck.
As for the Type 23 frigates the new ones are supposed to replace, they entered service in 1987. There are 16 of them currently deployed in the waters of the world.
Construction of the Glasgow began in 2017, and even if the Royal Navy announced a year ago the ship is halfway finished, it’s only now that BAE Systems reached the milestone.
The section that rolled out on the hardstand to be paired with the aft section contains the ship’s bridge, operations room, and accommodation spaces. It took the BAE team 90 minutes to move the mammoth to its designated location.
"The Type 26 is a highly capable ASW warship designed for joint and multinational operations across the full spectrum of warfare and will serve at the heart of the Royal Navy's surface fleet for decades to come,” Pat Browning, the Type 26 program Team Leader at Defence Equipment and Support, said in a statement.
"The roll out of the forward section of HMS Glasgow; the first of the Type 26 class, hails a landmark moment for this cutting-edge vessel and a huge step forward for the program.”
According to the available info, the HMS Glasgow should enter operations with the Royal Navy sometime in 2023. It will then be followed by the HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast and five others whose construction is yet to begin.
Like all the others in its family, the HMS Glasgow will be equipped with the Sea Ceptor missile defense system, a 5-inch medium caliber gun, a flexible mission bay, the Artisan 997 medium-range radar, and towed array sonars. Chinook-sized helicopters will be capable of landing on the flight deck.
As for the Type 23 frigates the new ones are supposed to replace, they entered service in 1987. There are 16 of them currently deployed in the waters of the world.
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