Norway selects UK Type 26 frigates under $13.5 billion plan

LONDON — Norway plans on acquiring at least five UK Type 26 Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) frigates, with an estimated price tag of £10 billion ($13.5 billion) after announcing selection of the BAE Systems designed vessel on Sunday.

Hailed by Oslo in a statement as the “largest Norwegian defence capability investment to date,” the procurement is intended to replace Norway’s legacy Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates, with the successor vessels set to be built at BAE’s shipyard in Clyde, Scotland. 

Norway and the UK will soon finalize a firm agreement to lock in the new buy, described by the British Ministry of Defence as its “biggest ever warship export deal by value.” The multibillion dollar procurement is also expected to open up “extensive industrial cooperation” between the two European allies.

“I am confident that the strategic partnership with the UK for purchasing, developing and operating frigates is the right decision,” added Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. “This partnership enables Norway to reach the strategic objectives our Parliament set out in the current Long-Term Plan on Defence.” 

Oslo also shared that the future frigates are set to be delivered in 2030 and “will be as identical as possible, and have the same technical specifications,” as those under construction for the Royal Navy.

“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,” added the UK MoD statement. The Royal Navy vessels are scheduled to enter service between 2028 and 2035.

Norway had previously considered France’s Defense and Intervention Frigate (FDI), Germany’s F126, and the US Constellation-class as competitors for the frigate program.

Anti-submarine helicopters are also planned to support Norway’s Type 26 fleet, but Oslo is still to decide on a type after terminating a contract for NH90 rotorcraft in 2022 on account of delays, errors and excessive maintenance.

Nick Childs, senior fellow for naval forces and maritime security at the International Institute for Strategic Studies told Breaking Defense that the “keys” to the Type 26 securing Norway’s approval were based specifically around Oslo’s focus on anti-submarine warfare capabilities and working with a “close strategic ally.”

“In that context, the Type 26 promises to be the global top-of-the-line ASW frigate when it enters service,” he added, in a statement. “And, while all the contenders were close strategic allies of Norway, there is probably none closer at the moment particularly on the ASW front than the UK.”

“[T]here is the promise of a highly-integrated force being developed of UK and Norwegian Type 26s,” said Childs, “possibly with Canada as well, and this should have both operational and sustainment benefits for both countries.”

Despite the obvious strategic advantages, he pointed out that “critics” have suggested that the future frigate is “expensive and other designs may have had an advantage in terms of missile capabilities and sensors.”

Childs’ comments echo those of Norwegian Chief of Defense Gen. Eirik Kristoffersen, who told Breaking Defense in an April 2024 interview that whatever frigate Norway buys, it will be ordered with partnerships in mind.

“When it comes to frigates, I said that we need to do the same as with the submarines: We need to do it in close cooperation with one ally, at least,” Kristoffersen said then. “So we need the same frigate as another ally. We cannot be the one user of a system, we are too small for that. I think that’s also lessons learned from Ukraine, you need much more standardized platforms, much more standardized weapon systems, much more standardized data, logistics.”