Type 26 Global Combat Ship |
|
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Type 26 Global Combat Ship |
| Builders: | BAE Systems Surface Ships |
| Operators: | Royal Navy (future) |
| Preceded by: | Type 23 frigate |
| Cost: | £250-350 million (planned) |
| In service: | 2020 onward (planned) |
| Planned: | 13 (planned) |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | Frigate |
| Displacement: | 5,500 t (5,400 long tons) |
| Length: | 145 m (475 ft 8 in) |
| Beam: | 19 m (62 ft 1 in) |
| Speed: | 26+ knots |
| Range: | 11,265 km (7,000 miles) at 15 knots (28 km/h) |
| Endurance: | 60 days |
| Troops: | 36 embarked troops |
| Complement: | 130 |
| Armament: | Common Anti-Air Modular Missile |
| Aircraft carried: | 1 |
The Global Combat Ship (GCS) is a ship design and construction programme currently underway by the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence to replace the Royal Navy's 13 Type 23 frigates. The programme has been in development since 1998, initially under the designation "Future Surface Combatant (FSC)". The FSC concept was brought forward in the 2008 budget, at the expense of two Type 45 destroyers being cancelled (ships 7 and 8).[1]
The Global Combat Ship, known by the British Government as the Type 26 frigate, was confirmed in the October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review.[2] The Global Combat Ship is being designed by BAE Systems Surface Ships as part of a four year programme to develop the UK Type 26 variant of the Global Combat Ship.[3]
Contents |
At the end of the Cold War the Royal Navy was principally an anti-submarine force designed to keep the North Atlantic clear of Soviet submarines. The first of the Type 23 frigates came into service in November 1987; these were advanced anti-submarine warfare (ASW) designs but were less suitable as general purpose escorts, having limited anti-surface capabilities and short-range anti-air missiles. Since they were intended to spend their working lives towing sonar arrays through the North Atlantic, it was expected that their service lives would be just 18 years and a replacement would be needed by around 2005. However it became apparent that the Type 23s were having a much easier life than originally planned, and would last well into the 2020s and early 2030s given appropriate mid-life upgrades. For instance, in August 2008 it was announced that they were to receive the new Insyte Artisan 3D search radar. However the four remaining Type 22s would still need replacing between 2015 and 2020. So work on replacements continued, but at a low intensity. In March 2005, the plan was still for a two-class solution, a cheaper "Medium Sized Vessel Derivative" entering service in 2016-9 and a more capable "Versatile Surface Combatant" entering service around 2023.[4]
Planning for a replacement escort vessel started in 1998 with the ordering of a research vessel, the RV Triton, to study whether a trimaran design was practical for such a large and complex vessel. In early 2006 the MoD started a Sustained Surface Combatant Capability (S2C2) programme which explored synergies between the FSC and other needs, for minesweepers, patrol ships and survey ships. By early 2007 this had crystallised into the three requirements - C1, C2 and C3 and this is the form that the FSC programme was expected to take with the green light given by Planning Round 2008 (PR08).
The C3 found its roots in an attempt to save the original FSC programme, the MoD issued a Request for Information (RFI) in early 2004 for a smaller class of ship known as the Global Corvette. Low running costs and the ability to operate forward in shallow, coastal areas where larger ships cannot, were both important. BAE Systems, VT Group, Thales and Rolls-Royce responded in Autumn 2004 with concepts ranging from a well equipped Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) of 1,500 tonnes to an advanced and very capable "corvette" of 3,000 tonnes, along the lines of the USN's Littoral Combat Ship programme (LCS). However in early 2010 the C3 variant was dropped for the Mine Countermeasures, Hydrographic and Patrol Capability programme (MHPC).
In 2009 BAE Systems received a contract to design the C1 and C2 frigates with a planned 25 year life. A total of 18 vessels (10 of the C1 variety and 8 of the C2 variety) were planned to enter service from 2020, at a pace of roughly one per year.[6]
On 24 February 2010, First Sea Lord Sir Mark Stanhope referred to the Future Surface Combatant as the Type 26 frigate during a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). This designation was repeated during a House of Commons debate on defence on 15 March 2010. On 25 March 2010, BAE Systems were given a four-year, £127 million contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), to fully design the C1 variant of the FSC, which then began to be known as the Type 26 variant of the Global Combat Ship. It was confirmed that the first of the Type 26 frigates is planned to be delivered to the Royal Navy in 2020.[7][8]
In October 2010, the Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) saw the announcement that the remaining Type 22 frigates would be decommissioned without replacement within 6 months of the review. It stated that "As soon as possible after 2020 the Type 23 will be replaced by Type 26 frigates, designed to be easily adapted to change roles and capabilities depending on the strategic circumstances".
BAEs original working baseline for the Type 26 design was a vessel of 141 metres long with a displacement of 6,850 tonnes. With an "in service date" of 2021 for the first Type 26, with the plan to have one Type 26 vessel coming into Royal Navy service per year from 2021.[9] On 30 November 2010 it was reported that the specifications had been pared to reduce the cost from £500m to £250-350m per ship.
By May 2011 new specification details began to emerge of a smaller 5,500 tonne ship emphasising flexibility and modularity like the German MEKO designs.[10] The new design had a length of 145m, beam of 19m, top speed of at least 26 knots (48 km/h), and a crew of 130 with room for 36 embarked troops.[11] It would have 60 days endurance and have a range of 7,000 miles (11,000 km) at 15 knots (28 km/h).[11] Like the Franco-Italian family of FREMM/FREDA frigates, three versions are proposed; A design optimised for anti-submarine warfare (ASW); An anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) variant and a general purpose (GP) variant.
BAE have suggested that some customers will install gas turbine engines and others will prefer to sacrifice 2-3 knots of speed by choosing cheaper diesel engines.[10]
The Royal Navy (RN) plan to buy 8 ASW and 5 GP ships to replace the 13 Type 23's one-for-one from 2021.[12] The RN ships will use the Artisan radar, Common Anti-Air Modular Missile and probably the 4.5" gun, currently installed/planned on the Type 23. Other navies could choose systems and equipment that meet their individual requirements, such as the Thales SMART-S radar found on Denmark's Absalon class, the Mk 45 or Otobreda 127/64 guns, or RIM-66 Standard missiles. In the stern is a mission bay with a ramp allowing the deployment of boats and unmanned vehicles,[12] or the deployment of a towed array sonar.[13] Chinooks can be flown off the large flight deck, and the hangar can accommodate Wildcats and Merlin.[14]
Britain needs foreign markets to keep the per-unit costs of the new frigates down enough to keep them affordable.[15] As of 31 January 2011 Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand and Turkey had all expressed interest in collaborating on the Global Combat Ship, and the UK was in "close discussion" with Canada.[16] A Canadian union campaigned that the Global Combat Ship threatened Canadian shipbuilders and in the run-up to the May 2011 election a spokesman for the Canadian Defence Minister ruled out involvement with the British programme.[17]
In January 2010, Jane's Defence Weekly announced that the UK government and the government of Australia were exploring the potential for cooperation on the C1 and C3 designs, which correspond closely to the Royal Australian Navy's requirements in replacing its Anzac-class frigate with a new frigate, and four minor war vessel classes with a single class of offshore combatants.[18]
The British and Brazilian governments agreed on a defence partnership that may lead to the sale of five or six Type 26 frigates to the Brazilian Navy.[19] In October 2010, BAE made a detailed proposal to the Brazilian navy, for a package including Type 26 frigates as well as variants of the Wave Knight-class tanker and River-class patrol vessel.[20]
The United Kingdom is currently in the process of negotiating a military partnership with the Republic of Turkey. Under the partnership, Turkey could assist the United Kingdom with the development of the Type 26 Frigate.[21] It is said that Turkey has gained significant experience in the design and development of modern stealth naval platforms. Turkey had recently developed the Milgem class corvette/frigate and is also currently developing the TF-2000 class frigate.