LONDON (Realist English). The United Kingdom has clinched its largest-ever warship export contract, winning a £10bn deal to supply Norway with at least five Type-26 frigates, the Ministry of Defence confirmed on Sunday. The agreement marks a deepening of Anglo-Norwegian defence ties as both countries confront increasing Russian activity in the Arctic and north Atlantic.
The first vessels, primarily built by BAE Systems at its Glasgow shipyards, are expected to be delivered by 2030. Competing bids from the US, France and Germany were outpaced, with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre describing the UK partnership as “the right decision” to reinforce national and Nato maritime security.
“This will strengthen our and Nato’s ability to patrol and protect the High North,” Støre said.
Under the deal, the UK and Norway will operate a combined fleet of 13 anti-submarine frigates designed to “detect, classify, track and defeat hostile submarines,” according to the MoD.
Defence Secretary John Healey said the frigates would be crucial to “hunting Russian submarines” and “protecting critical infrastructure.” “With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and — if necessary — fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in Nato,” he said.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, in a call with Støre, said the deal would bring “unparalleled interoperability” for the two nations’ armed forces, ahead of a broader defence pact expected soon.
The agreement follows reports that UK, Norwegian and US forces, including Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, conducted operations last week to track at least one Russian submarine in the north Atlantic. The MoD confirmed the activity as an “operation” rather than a training drill.
The contract will support around 4,000 UK jobs, more than half of them in Scotland, and involve 432 companies across the country. BAE chief executive Charles Woodburn hailed the agreement as proof of Norway’s “confidence in British industry’s ability to deliver.”
BAE’s Glasgow yards are now fully booked for years ahead, with knock-on benefits expected for other UK shipbuilders competing for future orders. Norway, meanwhile, said the two countries had reached a draft agreement for Britain to guarantee industrial co-operation with Norwegian firms equivalent in value to the acquisition.
The Type-26 design has also been licensed to Canada and is under construction in Australia. For the UK, the deal provides a powerful boost to its defence sector, which Labour has identified as a pillar of its economic growth strategy, alongside a pledge to raise defence spending to 3.5% of GDP by 2035.