Billions of pounds will be pumped into the UK economy following Norway’s decision to select British warships for their Armed Forces – securing thousands of jobs in Britain for years to come.
The UK, in its biggest ever warship export deal by value, will supply Norway with Type 26 frigates designed for anti-submarine warfare in the deal worth £10 billion announced on 31 August, a clear example of this Government is delivering on its Plan for Change.
The deal will support 4,000 jobs across the UK supply chain until well into the 2030s, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards. The programme is also expected to support 432 business, including 222 small and medium enterprises, across the UK including 103 in Scotland, 47 in the North West of England and 35 in the West Midlands.
Norway’s selection of the UK’s world leading Type 26 frigates builds on decades of close cooperation between close NATO allies and strengthens both nations’ strategic partnership and maritime security in the face of increasing Russian threats in northern Europe. Both Australia and Canada have also selected the design for Type 26 for their Navies.
Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre said: “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.”
“Selecting the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for frigates was also recommended by the Chief of Defence. The choice represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries.”
“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 decision comes ahead of a new UK-Norway defence agreement that will strengthen Euro-Atlantic security while bringing the two countries’ defence industries closer together to boost jobs, growth, and innovation.
Norway’s operation of identical Type 26 ships alongside the Royal Navy hails the deepening of a long term-strategic relationship that will see a combined fleet of 13 Anti-Submarine Warfare frigates – eight British and at least five Norwegian – to detect, classify, track and defeat hostile submarines – significantly reinforcing NATO’s northern flank.
This ambitious partnership will also cover shared maintenance, extensive crew training, in-service support and personnel exchanges.
As outlined in this year’s Strategic Defence Review, Norway remains one of the United Kingdom’s most valued strategic allies, serving as the only nation participating in the UK Carrier Strike Group’s complete 2025 deployment whilst also collaborating with the UK and NATO partners in safeguarding critical undersea infrastructure in Northern Europe.
The City-class frigates purchased by Norway will be as interoperable as possible with their British counterparts and share identical technical specifications, with deliveries expected to commence in 2030. Reports indicate that the Norwegian frigate project will be constructed at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard in Glasgow, Scotland.
Public records indicate that the UK’s Type 26 City-class frigate represents the Royal Navy’s new generation of multi-purpose main combat vessels. Designed and constructed by BAE Systems, it aims to replace the aging Type 23 frigates while fulfilling NATO’s anti-submarine warfare, air defense, and strategic deterrence requirements in the North Atlantic and Arctic regions. The vessel measures 149.9 meters in length and 20.8 meters in width, with a standard displacement of 6,900 tons and a full load displacement exceeding 8,000 tons.
The Type 26 features sophisticated weapons, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge communications, with a flexible design that enables future upgrades to counter emerging threats.