UK's first Type 26 frigate HMS Glasgow approaches sea trials as BAE Systems ramps up production.

BAE Systems has commenced systems commissioning aboard the first-in-class Type 26 vessel, HMS Glasgow, at its Scotstoun shipyard on the Clyde ahead of maiden sea trials, as confirmed in its 2026 half-year results. The trial preparations mark the transition from structural assembly to operational integration of the frigate's CODLOG propulsion, Sonar 2087 towed array, and Mk 41 vertical launch systems. Concurrently, BAE Systems is ramping up class-wide production across its Clyde facilities, with five Type 26 hulls under simultaneous construction to streamline delivery timelines for the Royal Navy.

Expected to enter operational service in 2028, HMS Glasgow represents the first of eight planned 8,000-tonne City-class Type 26 frigates featuring a hybrid combined diesel-electric or gas turbine propulsion plant designed to minimize underwater acoustic signatures during anti-submarine warfare operations. The vessel incorporates 48 Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile canisters, 24 strike-length Mk 41 vertical launch cells, and an integrated sonar architecture comprising the Type 2150 bow sonar and Sonar 2087 low-frequency towed array.

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Instead of a conventional slipway launch, the Type 26 frigate HMS Glasgow was transferred onto the semi-submersible barge CD01, moved down the Clyde to Glen Mallan, floated off and then returned to Scotstoun for final fitting-out. (Picture source: UK MoD)

On July 30, 2026, BAE Systems confirmed in its 2026 half-year results that it is currently commissioning key systems aboard HMS Glasgow, the first Type 26 frigate for the British Royal Navy, in preparation for her initial sea trials. Currently, HMS Glasgow (F88) remains at BAE Systems' Scotstoun yard on the Clyde, where work has shifted from major structural assembly to equipment commissioning, cable termination, machinery activation and combat system integration ahead of those sea trials, expected in late 2026 or early 2027. The industrial programme has already moved beyond a conventional sequential build model. Five Royal Navy Type 26 frigates are now under construction at the same time: Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham and Sheffield.

That represents 62.5% of the planned eight-ship class, in which the HMS Glasgow is expected to reach operational capability in 2028, roughly 11 years after first steel. The HMS Glasgow was ordered on July 2, 2017, then laid down on July 20, 2017. The forward section was moved out of the construction shed on April 18, 2021, and joined to the aft section on May 1, 2021, after which the completed hull entered its launch sequence on November 25, 2022. The ship was then floated off in December 2022, formally named on May 22, 2025, and the first of the ship's four MTU diesel generators was started on December 18, 2025. Interestingly, the ship was not launched down a conventional slipway. Instead, it was transferred onto the semi-submersible barge CD01, moved down the River Clyde, taken to Glen Mallan on Loch Long, floated off and then returned to Scotstoun for fitting-out.

The 127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4A main gun, for its part, was installed in September 2024, and Royal Navy weapon engineers completed the first operator and maintenance training for the system in October 2024. The frigate is 149.9 m long and 20.8 m wide, has a displacement of more than 8,000 tonnes at full load, exceeds 26 knots, and has a range of more than 7,000 nautical miles, or 13,000 km. Its CODLOG propulsion plant combines one 36 MW Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine, four MTU diesel generators rated at up to 3 MW each, and two electric propulsion motors. The combat fit combines the Type 2150 bow sonar, Sonar 2087 low-frequency active and passive towed-array sonar, Type 997 Artisan radar, 48 Sea Ceptor missiles, 24 Mk 41 strike-length VLS cells, a 127 mm Mk 45 Mod 4A gun, two 30 mm DS30M Mk2 mounts and two Phalanx CIWS. 

The Type 2150 bow sonar and Sonar 2087 towed-array equipment were already installed by the time Glasgow entered the present integration phase, while the foredeck was being prepared for the Sea Ceptor and Mk 41 vertical-launch installations. The four MTU diesel generator sets do not only power propulsion motors but also lighting, computing, air conditioning, fuel pumps, compressed-air systems, communications and the wider electrical network needed to commission the combat system. By mid-2026, the dominant tasks were cable termination, power-up, system setting-to-work and integration rather than basic hull construction. If contractor trials begin in December 2026 or early 2027, the HMS Glasgow will reach sea trials roughly nine and a half years after first steel, with another roughly one to two years of handover, Royal Navy work-up, crew training and live-weapon testing still required before the 2028 operational target. 

The propulsion arrangement of the Type 26 is designed to reduce self-generated acoustic noise rather than simply maximize shaft power. Each MTU Type 20V 4000 M53B diesel generator can produce up to 3 MW, for a combined installed diesel-generation capacity of 12 MW, while the Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine provides 36 MW for higher-speed operation. During routine cruising and submarine-search missions, the ship can rely on electric propulsion, avoiding the direct mechanical connection between diesel engines and the shafts that would otherwise transmit more vibration through the hull, directly affecting the passive sonar's performance. Machinery vibration, shaft noise, propeller cavitation, and hydrodynamic flow can mask weak underwater contacts, especially against modern submarines operating at low speed. The Type 26 therefore combines electric drive with an acoustically optimized hull and isolated machinery installation in order to reduce the acoustic floor against which the Type 2150 and Sonar 2087 must detect targets.

The design accepts a more complex propulsion architecture in exchange for lower noise during ASW operations, while retaining the MT30 for speeds above 26 knots when tactical maneuver or rapid repositioning is required. With a stated range exceeding 7,000 nautical miles in electric-drive mode, the ship can perform sustained escort, patrol and submarine-search missions rather than just short-duration high-speed operations. The underwater sensor and weapon chain of the HMS Glasgow is built around complementary detection ranges rather than one sonar. The Type 2150 bow sonar provides the hull-mounted search layer, while the Sonar 2087 deploys a low-frequency active and passive towed array astern of the ship. Because the 2087 array operates physically away from much of the hull and machinery noise, it can exploit lower-frequency acoustic propagation and passive listening conditions more effectively than a sensor mounted directly on the hull.

The system also incorporates torpedo-warning capability, so the same underwater suite supports both submarine search and self-protection after a hostile weapon has been launched. Moreover, the Type 26 does not need to close directly over every submarine contact as Merlin or Wildcat helicopters can extend the prosecution area well beyond the ship's position. The Merlin can carry four anti-submarine torpedoes, while the Wildcat can carry two anti-submarine torpedoes or four anti-ship missiles. That produces a layered engagement sequence in which a submarine contact can be investigated and engaged without the surface ship entering the most favorable torpedo geometry for the submarine. In fleet terms, this is why Type 26 is intended principally for the anti-submarine screen around carrier groups and the Continuous At Sea Deterrent rather than for independent general-purpose patrol work alone.

The missile architecture also represents a substantial change from the preceding Type 23 frigate, as the Type 26 separates its local air defense missile inventory from its larger strike-length cells. The Sea Ceptor is carried in 12 dedicated launcher modules, each holding four missiles, for a maximum load of 48 surface-to-air missiles. This means the 24 Mk 41 strike-length cells are not required to carry Sea Ceptor and can instead be reserved for larger anti-submarine, land-attack and anti-surface weapons, such as Tomahawks and ASROCs. The Type 26's main gun is the 127 mm/62-calibre Mk 45 Mod 4A, which replaces the 114 mm Mk 8 used on the Type 23. The gun includes an automated ammunition-handling system feeding a 20-round ready-use magazine from the deeper magazine below deck, reducing manual shell handling during firing.

Close-range defense consists of two DS30M Mk2 30 mm mounts and two Phalanx CIWS, with .50-calibre heavy machine guns and general-purpose machine guns providing additional short-range coverage. The result is a layered weapons fit combining 48 dedicated air defense missiles, 24 larger strike-length cells, a 127 mm gun and several close-in systems, with each layer serving a different engagement envelope. The Type 997 Artisan radar, aviation complex and mission bay add capacity that is not directly required for submarine hunting but materially increases the HMS Glasgow's utility in a task group. The Artisan has a detection range of up to 200 km and can track more than 800 objects simultaneously, allowing the Type 26 to maintain a substantial air and surface picture while supporting Sea Ceptor engagements and wider task-group situational awareness.

The flight deck is large enough for a Chinook-sized helicopter, while the enclosed hangar is intended for regular embarked operations by Merlin or Wildcat. The mission bay is one of the most important differences compared with previous British frigates because it can accept boats, vehicles, ISO-type containers, mission modules, unmanned systems and other payloads without displacing the ship's permanent sonar or missile fit. For instance, its dedicated handling system is designed to launch and recover manned and unmanned surface craft in sea state 6 and to move containerized loads without depending entirely on dockside cranes. The ship can accommodate up to 208 personnel, leaving capacity above the normal core crew for aviation detachments, mission specialists, additional command personnel or embarked forces. That extra volume is not incidental, and is one of the reasons why the Type 26 displaces more than 8,000 tonnes despite being categorized as a frigate.

Among the four other Type 26 frigates in construction for the Royal Navy, the HMS Cardiff (F89) left Govan in September 2024 and is now undergoing afloat fitting-out at Scotstoun, but remains behind the HMS Glasgow in major equipment installation and system integration. The HMS Belfast (F90) moved under cover in July 2025 for the next phase of construction. The HMS Birmingham (F91) is the fourth hull, while first steel for the fifth, HMS Sheffield (F92), was cut on November 28, 2024. Preparatory work for the HMS Newcastle (F93), hull six, is already underway through procurement of long-lead equipment, meaning programme activity extends into 75% of the planned class when pre-construction work is included. BAE Systems has also changed the industrial infrastructure used for follow-on ships.

The Janet Harvey Hall at Govan can now accommodate two Type 26 hulls under cover at the same time, reducing weather exposure and allowing more outfitting to be completed before ships move to Scotstoun. The production target is to reduce build duration from roughly 96 months for the first ship toward about 60 months for the eighth, the HMS Edinburgh (F95), and to compress the interval between successive ships from about 18 months toward 12 months. In practical terms, BAE Systems is trying to cut roughly three years from the build cycle between the first and last British Type 26s while increasing the frequency at which completed hulls move through the Clyde production system. The current fleet-level issue is that eight Type 26 frigates will replace only the specialized anti-submarine component of the Type 23 fleet rather than all 13 Type 23s on a one-for-one basis.

The original concept called for 13 Global Combat Ships, with eight optimized for ASW and five intended for general-purpose missions. The 2015 force-structure decision retained the eight ASW Type 26s but replaced the planned five general-purpose Type 26s with what became the Type 31. The resulting Royal Navy escort structure therefore depends on two different frigate classes rather than a common 13-ship Type 26 fleet. Five of the eight Type 26s are scheduled to join after 2030, so the Royal Navy will spend several years retiring aging Type 23 ASW frigates while only gradually generating the replacement force. The programme therefore carries a timing problem in addition to a capability problem: each Type 26 brings more missile capacity, more internal volume, two organic sonar systems, more aviation capability and a strike-length VLS absent from the Type 23, but those improvements, logically, will only translate into fleet-level effect when enough ships are operational at the same time.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.

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