British Navy rolls out second Type 31 frigate HMS Active to expand global patrol capability.

The British Royal Navy rolled out the Type 31 frigate HMS Active at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard on February 24, 2026, while officially starting the construction of HMS Bulldog on the same day with a steel cutting ceremony.

The UK's Royal Navy rolled out the second Type 31 frigate, HMS Active, at Babcock Rosyth shipyard on February 24, 2026, the same day that construction of HMS Bulldog began with a steel cutting ceremony. The events mark the transition of HMS Active to fitting out and the start of the fourth Inspiration-class frigate built to replace ageing Type 23 ships.
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The HMS Active, whose construction began with a steel cutting ceremony in January 2023, is the second vessel of the Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates and the thirteenth Royal Navy ship to carry the name Active. (Picture source: UK Navy)

On February 24, 2026, the British Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate programme reached two industrial milestones at the Rosyth shipyard in Scotland as the HMS Active was rolled out from Babcock’s construction facility and steel was cut to begin building HMS Bulldog. The rollout marked the completion of the main construction phase for HMS Active (F08) and the transition toward fitting-out activities before launch and testing. On the same day, the steel-cutting ceremony initiated fabrication of HMS Bulldog (F09), the fourth of five ships in the class. The programme forms part of the United Kingdom’s effort to replace the ageing Type 23 general purpose frigates with a new generation of surface combatants entering service during the second half of the decade. Construction activity takes place at Rosyth in Fife, the same shipyard where the Royal Navy’s Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers were assembled.

HMS Active (F08) is the second vessel of the Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates and the thirteenth Royal Navy ship to carry the name Active. Construction began with a steel cutting ceremony on January 23, 2023, at Rosyth, followed by the keel laying ceremony on September 16, 2023. The ship emerged from the assembly hall on February 24, 2026, on a self-propelled wheeled modular transporter, marking the end of structural assembly inside the build hall. Following the rollout, the vessel proceeds to final fitting-out, which includes installation of combat systems, sensors, weapons, and other equipment before entering sea trials. Once launched, the frigate will return to Rosyth to complete further integration work prior to entering operational service with the Royal Navy. The lead ship of the class, HMS Venturer, was rolled out earlier in 2025 and is currently undergoing fitting-out ahead of a projected commissioning in 2027.

The steel cutting ceremony for HMS Bulldog on the same date, which demonstrated the building of multiple ships within the same production facility, initiated production of the fourth frigate of the class. Steel plates for the hull were cut using automated machinery within Babcock’s manufacturing facility at Rosyth. HMS Bulldog (F09) will join three other Type 31s already in various stages of construction, including HMS Venturer (F12), HMS Active (F08), and HMS Formidable (F11), while a fifth vessel, HMS Campbeltown (F10), is planned as the final ship of the class. All five ships will operate from Portsmouth Naval Base once in service. HMS Active has affiliations with the cities of Burnley and Wolverhampton, while HMS Bulldog is linked with Manchester and Swindon. For Babcock, the construction sequence illustrates the staggered production cycle in which several vessels are assembled simultaneously in different stages across the shipyard infrastructure.

The Type 31 frigates, also known as the Inspiration class, are a group of five general-purpose warships built for the Royal Navy to perform a broad range of maritime tasks. Each ship has a displacement of 5,700 tonnes and a length of 138.7 metres. The propulsion system consists of four Rolls-Royce or MTU 20V 8000 M71 diesel engines supported by four Rolls-Royce or MTU 16V 2000 M41B generators operating through a combined diesel and diesel arrangement with two shafts and MAN Alpha VBS Mk5 controllable pitch propellers. Maximum speed exceeds 28 knots, and the operational range reaches 9,000 nautical miles. Crew size is about 110 sailors with accommodation for up to 190 personnel, allowing additional mission specialists or aviation crews to embark when required. The ships include a helicopter hangar and flight deck capable of supporting either an AW159 Wildcat or AW101 Merlin helicopter.

Combat systems aboard the ships include the Thales TACTICOS combat management system, a Thales NS110 multi-beam AESA radar, Mirador Mk2 electro-optical sensors, and navigation systems produced by Raytheon and Terma. Electronic warfare capability includes the Vigile-D electronic support measures system and additional decoy launchers designed to counter incoming missile threats. The primary armament configuration consists of a 57 mm Mk110 naval gun, two 40 mm Mk4 secondary guns, and four 7.62 mm machine guns. Air defence capability is provided by Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missiles, while aviation facilities support anti-surface, surveillance, and maritime security missions through embarked helicopters. A mission bay beneath the flight deck can accommodate containerised equipment or support operations involving rigid-hull inflatable boats, unmanned surface vehicles, and unmanned underwater vehicles launched from three boat bays.

The Type 31 frigates are designed to conduct maritime security patrols, interception operations, intelligence collection, defence engagement missions with partner navies, and humanitarian assistance activities. Their modular architecture allows the integration of different mission packages and equipment during service life. The design used for the class is based on Babcock’s Arrowhead 140 design, derived from the Danish Navy’s Iver Huitfeldt-class frigate hull form, which was extensively redesigned to meet Royal Navy standards and survivability requirements. The approach allows additional weapons, sensors, or mission modules to be integrated during future capability insertion periods. The frigates are intended to operate alongside the Type 26 anti-submarine warfare frigates and Type 45 destroyers within the Royal Navy’s future fleet structure.

The shipbuilding programme supports a workforce of about 1,250 employees directly engaged in the Type 31 programme at Rosyth and across related UK facilities, while another 1,250 jobs exist within the national supply chain providing equipment, systems, and materials. An industrial investment of about £200 million has been made by Babcock at the Rosyth shipyard to expand shipbuilding capability. The Venturer Building assembly hall enables two frigates to be assembled simultaneously and supports modular construction techniques that allow systems and compartments to be installed before the hull blocks are joined. More than 400 apprenticeship positions have been created through partnerships with technical colleges in Fife and other parts of Scotland. These initiatives aim to maintain domestic expertise in ship design, engineering, and maritime manufacturing while preparing new personnel for future naval construction projects.

The Arrowhead 140 design on which the Type 31 frigate is based has also been selected for naval programmes outside the United Kingdom. Indonesia is constructing a group of frigates derived from the design under the Red-White frigate programme at PT PAL shipyard in Surabaya. Poland has adopted the design for the Wicher-class frigates under the Miecznik programme, being built at PGZ Stocznia Wojenna in Gdynia. The modular structure of the design allows different navies to integrate national weapons, sensors, and combat systems while retaining the core hull architecture. Within the United Kingdom programme, the five ships HMS Venturer, HMS Active, HMS Formidable, HMS Bulldog, and HMS Campbeltown are planned to enter service by the end of the decade, replacing five Type 23 frigates to form a key component of the Royal Navy’s future surface fleet.

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.