The Norwegian Government has chosen the United Kingdom as a partner for the acquisition of new frigates, namely the British Type 26 Global Combat Ship frigates from BAE Systems.
"Selecting the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for frigates was also recommended by the Chief of Defence. The choice represents a historic strengthening of the defence cooperation between our two countries," Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said.
According to the Norwegian Government, the purchase of British frigates will be the largest Norwegian defence capability investment to date.
“We have strong shared interests in the North Atlantic. Our Armed Forces maintains a close cooperation, and with a joint frigate program, we will be able to operate seamlessly and integrated in our joint areas of interest,” Defence Minister Tore Sandvik added.
Deliveries are expected to begin in 2030. Since November 2024, Norwegian authorities have been contemplating partners on frigates, notably France, Germany, USA and UK.
“Together we will acquire frigates to the British Royal Navy and the Royal Norwegian Navy. We will operate and develop the frigates for the coming decades. This will strengthen our and NATO’s ability to patrol and protect the maritime areas in the High North. This is of great importance to Norwegian, British and allied security in these times of global instability,” Støre affirmed.
The Type 26 frigates are warships designed to detect, track down and combat submarines. The Norwegian and British vessels will be as identical as possible and possess the same technical specifications.
The Norwegian frigates will be equipped with anti-submarine capable helicopters. However, at this stage, what exact type of helicopter they will be operating is undecided.
“The Norwegian frigates will be equipped with helicopters with anti-submarine capability. At the same time, it is important that we consider the rapid technological developments and explore the possibilities for utilising unmanned platforms. This is something we will look further into together with British partners,” Sandvik said
The two countries will soon finalise a binding agreement to set the partnership’s framework. Once the agreement is signed, the two parties will enter into contract negotiations with the main British supplier, BAE Systems.
“Our first goal is to finalise the Government agreement shortly. Then we will move into contract negotiations. We will negotiate, among other things, the price and delivery schedule for the vessels, before returning to the Parliament with an investment decision,” Sandvik said.
The type 26 frigate is in the process of replacing the UK’s Type 23 frigates. The UK’s frigates have 3D radar, Sonar 2087, Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles and a medium calibre gun.
ADM Comment: Australia is acquiring six Hunter-class frigates for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), which are a derivation of BAE Systems’ Type 26 design.