Glasgow to build warships for Norway in £10bn deal – Daily Business

Glasgow will build a fleet of warships for Norway after BAE Systems won a £10 billion order for Type 26 frigates.

The deal supports 2,000 jobs at the yards in Glasgow and a further 2,000 roles across the UK maritime supply chain until the late 2030s.

The agreement is expected to support 103 Scottish businesses which includes 54 small and medium enterprises.

Govan is currently building eight frigates for the Royal Navy.

Australia and Canada have also bought licences to build their own ships based on the Type 26 design for their Navies. 

Prime Minister Keir Starmer said: “This £10 billion deal is what our Plan for Change is about – creating jobs, driving growth and protecting national security for working people. 

“This government has forged new partnerships across the world to deliver for people at home and the export of our world leading Type 26 frigates to Norway will do exactly that, supporting well-paid jobs up and down the United Kingdom, from apprentices to engineers. 

“This success is testament to the thousands of people across the country who are not just delivering this next generation capabilities for our Armed Forces but also national security for the UK, our Norwegian partners and NATO for years to come.” 

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the agreement “showcases the world-class skills and expertise of our workforce on the Clyde” and is “another ‘defence dividend’ for Scotland.

Defence Secretary, John Healey MP said:  “For over 75 years, Britain and Norway have stood together on NATO’s northern and north-eastern frontiers, keeping the UK and Europe safe. This historic defence deal deepens our strategic partnership.   

“With Norway, we will train, operate, deter, and – if necessary – fight together. Our navies will work as one, leading the way in NATO, with this deal putting more world-class warships in the North Atlantic to hunt Russian submarines, protect our critical infrastructure, and keep both our nations secure.” 

George Allison, the founder and editor of the UK Defence Journal, said: “The ships will replace the Fridtjof Nansen-class frigates, a fleet that has been diminished since the loss of HNoMS Helge Ingstad in 2018. With only four ships left in service, Norway has faced challenges meeting its commitments in the High North and across the North Atlantic.

“These waters remain strategically vital as Russian submarines operate out of the Kola Peninsula into the Norwegian and Barents Seas, creating persistent pressure on NATO’s northern flank”.

The frigates are designed for anti-submarine warfare – strengthening the strategic partnership and maritime security of both nations in the face of increasing Russian threats in northern Europe. 

The decision comes ahead of a new UK-Norway defence agreement that will bolster Euro-Atlantic security while bringing the two defence industries closer together to boost jobs, growth, and innovation.

Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said: “While the SNP play student politics with security and defence jobs in Scotland, Labour is on the side of Scottish shipyard workers and will always stand up for our national security”