The United Kingdom chose Babcock as the preferred bidder for the new Type 31e frigates, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Thursday.
The government has committed to buying at least five Type 31e frigates while it expects to sell others to international customers. The first Type 31 is expected to be delivered by 2023.
Babcock’s design is based on a modified version of the Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate, called the Arrowhead 140. The U.K. expects to finish contract discussions between the Ministry of Defence and Babcock by the end of the year. Babcock is working with Thales to design the Type 31.
The Royal Navy said the first Type 31 will be laid down in 2021 and launched in 2023, with the whole class finished by 2027. The total program is expected to cost over $1.5 billion, costing over $308 million per ship.
The Type 31 will replace five current Type 23 Duke-class frigates that are not fitted with towed array and the full set of submarine-hunting sensors: HMS Lancaster, Argyll, Monmouth, Montrose, and Iron Duke.
The Royal Navy said they will be built in segments and assembled at Babcock’s yard in Rosyth, Scotland, similar to the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carrier process.
The Prime Minister’s office underscored this program will support over 2,500 jobs in the U.K., with at least 150 of them for new technical apprenticeships.
Last December the U.K. Ministry of Defence announced the three finalists for the Type 31 were Babcock, BAE Systems, and Atlas Elektronik U.K. (Defense Daily, Dec. 10, 2018).
“It has been a tough competition and we are absolutely delighted that Arrowhead 140 has been recognized as offering the best design, build and delivery solution for the U.K.’s Royal Navy Type 31 frigates,” Archie Bethel, Chief Executive Officer of Babcock, said in a statement.
The government notes the Type 31s come after success with BAE’s Type 26 frigate. The U.K. started construction of eight Type 26 Global Combat Ships in 2017 to replace Type 23s which are currently dedicated submarine hunters. The Type 26s will start being delivered in the mid-2020s.
The Prime Minister’s office noted while BAE was not chosen, this decision comes after international success with their Type 26. Earlier this year Canada chose Lockheed Martin’s team with BAE to build 15 ships based on the Type 26 (Defense Daily, Feb. 8).
Before that, last June, Australia chose the Type 26 for its plan to build nine next-generation anti-submarine frigates under its Sea 5000 program (Defense Daily, June 29, 2018).
The Prime Minister’s office underscored the government pledged to maintain a surface fleet consisting of at least 19 frigates and destroyers before growing the fleet in the 2030s.
“These mighty ships will form the next generation of the Royal Navy fleet. The Type 31 frigates will be a fast, agile and versatile warship, projecting power and influence across the globe. The ships will be vital to the Royal Navy’s mission to keeping peace, providing life-saving humanitarian aid and safeguarding the economy across the world from the North Atlantic, to the Gulf, and in the Asia Pacific,” Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said in a statement.
Babcock underscored one element of the Type 31e is to supply a design that can potentially secure export orders, adding to the U.K. economy and jobs.