Breaking News: Norway Selects UK Type 26 Frigates to Strengthen Submarine Warfare Capability.

According to information published by the Norwegian Ministry of Defence on August 31, 2025, Norway has officially selected the United Kingdom as its strategic partner for the acquisition of new frigates, confirming the procurement of the British Type 26 Global Combat Ship. Designed for anti-submarine warfare, this agreement marks the largest defense investment in Norwegian history and sets the foundation for a major upgrade of the Royal Norwegian Navy's surface combatant capabilities.
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The British Royal Navy Type 26 anti-submarine frigate HMS Cardiff, representing the platform selected by Norway in its largest-ever defense acquisition, to modernize its naval fleet. (Picture source: British MoD)

The British-made Type 26 frigate, developed by BAE Systems for the British Royal Navy, is designed as a highly advanced and versatile warship optimized for anti-submarine warfare, while also capable of executing air defense, surface strike, and general-purpose missions. Displacing approximately 6,900 tonnes and equipped with a quiet propulsion system, the ship excels in low acoustic signature operations, essential for tracking submarines in the deep waters of the North Atlantic. Its weapons suite includes the Sea Ceptor air defense missile system, a 127 mm naval gun, and space for additional missile systems depending on national requirements. The Type 26 also features a large flight deck and hangar to support a range of helicopters and unmanned aerial systems, as well as a flexible mission bay for modular payloads including mine countermeasure systems or special forces equipment.

The Type 26 has already been selected by the British Royal Navy under the name City Class. This class will comprise eight vessels, with the first three ships HMS Glasgow, Cardiff, and Belfast expected to enter service before 2030. The remaining five, HMS Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh, and London, will join the fleet after 2030. The City Class ships have been specifically designed to excel in anti-submarine warfare. They are equipped with acoustically quiet hulls to reduce underwater noise signatures generated by two electric motors, four high-speed diesel generators, and a gas turbine direct drive. Their advanced towed sonar arrays provide both active and passive detection capabilities, including torpedo warning systems essential for modern undersea warfare.

Central to their capabilities is BAE Systems’ state-of-the-art Artisan 3D surveillance radar, offering advanced electronic protection and unrivalled target tracking performance. The system is capable of simultaneously monitoring over 800 objects at distances up to 200 kilometers and can operate effectively in the presence of electronic interference equivalent to 10,000 mobile phone signals. For air and surface warfare, the Type 26 features 12 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile and an additional 24 MK 41 VLS cells that provide flexibility to deploy a variety of mission-specific munitions. Each VLS cell for Sea Ceptor can hold four missiles, giving each vessel a potential total of 48 air defense interceptors.

For Norway, the selection of this frigate is not only a technological upgrade but a strategic necessity. The country’s geography, with a 25,000-kilometer-long coastline, vast exclusive economic zone, and direct access to the Arctic and North Atlantic, makes maritime power critical to national defense. The ability to monitor and secure sea lines of communication, protect subsea infrastructure, and deter increasingly assertive Russian naval activity in the High North is central to Norwegian security policy.

The current backbone of the Royal Norwegian Navy consists of four operational Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates, following the loss of HNoMS Helge Ingstad in 2018. These ships, introduced between 2006 and 2011, are nearing the limits of their technological lifespan and were never intended to operate under the sustained high-intensity conditions that modern naval competition now demands. Their continued service has required extensive upgrades, but even with modernization efforts, they lack the future-proof architecture and multi-domain flexibility offered by the Type 26.

The selection of the United Kingdom as Norway’s strategic partner follows a competitive evaluation process that included proposals from France, Germany, and the United States. The UK offer distinguished itself not only in terms of operational capability but also through its potential for long-term industrial cooperation, training alignment, and interoperability within NATO frameworks. Deliveries of the new frigates are scheduled to begin in 2030, enabling a phased transition toward a modernized surface fleet that will serve the Royal Norwegian Navy into the 2060s.

The decision to procure the British-made Type 26 frigate also reflects a shift toward closer alignment with northern European defense partners. By acquiring vessels that are as identical as possible to those operated by the Royal Navy, Norway is enhancing interoperability across a broad range of mission profiles. Shared technical specifications and systems architecture will allow the two navies to conduct joint operations more efficiently, streamline maintenance cycles, and explore the use of interchangeable crews. The adoption of a common platform significantly reduces lifecycle costs and logistical complexity while improving combat readiness and multinational integration.

Norwegian variants of the British Type 26 will also be equipped with anti-submarine capable helicopters, further reinforcing their primary role in undersea warfare. The specific helicopter model has not yet been selected, as Norway is still assessing future capabilities, including the integration of unmanned aerial systems to enhance surveillance and strike capacity. This reflects a broader interest in incorporating emerging technologies into maritime operations, with British-Norwegian cooperation expected to include shared evaluations of both manned and unmanned airborne systems.

To formalize this strategic alignment, the Norwegian and British governments are preparing to sign a binding intergovernmental agreement that will define the framework for defense cooperation and program governance. This agreement will pave the way for direct contract negotiations with BAE Systems, the main contractor for the Type 26 program. Key elements of these negotiations will include cost, delivery schedule, systems configuration, and technology transfer.

In parallel, both countries are negotiating separate industrial cooperation agreements involving Norwegian defense companies. These agreements aim to ensure national industrial participation across areas such as component manufacturing, software integration, logistics support, and long-term maintenance. Norway is placing strong emphasis on securing tangible benefits for its domestic defense sector, with the goal of anchoring critical elements of the frigate lifecycle within the national industrial base.

Once the intergovernmental and industrial agreements are finalized, the Norwegian government will present the detailed investment proposal to Parliament for formal approval. This comprehensive approach ensures that the acquisition is not only strategically sound but also economically and industrially sustainable, securing both national security and sovereign capability for the decades ahead.

The acquisition of the UK Type 26 anti-submarine frigates not only guarantees Norway access to one of the world’s most capable surface combatant platforms but also represents a strategic recalibration of naval power in Northern Europe. By aligning its future fleet with the Royal Navy’s City Class, Norway is strengthening its position as a frontline maritime power within NATO and reinforcing its capacity to secure its maritime domain in an era of renewed great power competition.