Military

Royal Navy's first Type 26 frigate is launched – very, very slowly

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HMS Glasgow being moved to its barge
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow in its construction cradle
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
The launch procedure will take several days
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
The launching barge awaiting HMS Glasgow
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow at night
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
The launch required complicated movements of the ship on land
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow is built by BAE Systems
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow has a modular construction
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
Eight Type 26 frigates are being built for the Royal Navy
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow without its sonar bulge
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow Barge is moved into position
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow with optional rainbow
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
The barge used to launch HMS Glasgow
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow is an anti-submarine warfare ship
BAE Systems/Michael McGurk
The barge has variable buoyancy
BAE Systems
HMS Glasgow is the first Type 26 frigate
BAE Systems
HMS Glasgow is rolled onto a barge on the Clyde at BAE Systems shipyard in Govan
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow bow on
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
HMS Glasgow being moved to its barge
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography
View gallery - 18 images

The first of the Royal Navy's Type 26 City Class frigates, HMS Glasgow, has begun a very slow launch at BAE Systems' Govan shipyard in Scotland. Rather than sliding into the water with a dramatic splash, the 6,000-tonne warship will be shifted through a complex series of maneuvers onto a special barge that will be towed downriver for several days before being slowly lowered into the water over a number of hours.

At one time, a ship launch could be a spectacular event that would draw a crowd of thousands. With the crash of a Champagne bottle against the bow by a dignitary, the great wedges that fastened a giant hull on the slipway would crash away and, trailing a garland of chains, the new ship would roll backwards or sideways to hit the water with a tremendous splash.

It's a splendid show, but it's also inefficient and potentially dangerous. It also requires all the hull components to be solidly in place and essentially complete so it can withstand the sudden shock, which is a problem with modern warships where the bow probably includes delicate apparatus like a sonar array that doesn't enjoy rough handling.

HMS Glasgow is rolled onto a barge on the Clyde at BAE Systems shipyard in Govan
BAE Systems/John Linton Photography

Instead of a traditional launch, BAE Systems opted for a method used previously to launch five Offshore Patrol Vessels built by the company in Glasgow. Replacing a quick splash, the vessel is set on a barge that can alter its buoyancy. It then takes several days to reach deep water off the west of Scotland and is slowly submerged before the future HMS Glasgow is moved to BAE Systems’ Scotstoun shipyard further along the Clyde river. During this time, the entire process will be monitored by BAE Systems engineers who have trained on a digital twin of the frigate, as well as engineers from Defence Equipment & Support, the MOD delivery agent, and members of the Royal Navy.

The first of eight Type 26 frigates ordered by the Navy, HMS Glasgow began construction in 2017. It is an advanced anti-submarine warfare ship designed to defend the Navy's ballistic missile submarines and Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. It will be powered by a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine and four MTU diesel generators driving two electric motors, propelling the ship to a top speed of over 26 kn (48 km/h, 30 mph). It will have a range of over 7,000 nm (8,000 miles, 13,000 km) and the flight deck will be large enough to handle a Chinook helicopter as well as its standard complement of two Merlins or Wildcats.

In addition to the Royal Navy, the Type 26 has been ordered by the Royal Canadian Navy and the Royal Australian Navy, and it may be sold to Brazil as well. HMS Glasgow is scheduled to be commissioned sometime in the mid-2020s. Meanwhile, the second and third ships in the class, HMS Cardiff and HMS Belfast, are under construction in Govan.

"HMS Glasgow entering the water for the first time marks a major milestone for the Type 26 program which supports thousands of highly skilled jobs in Scotland and more across the wider UK supply chain," said Ben Wallace, Secretary of State for Defence. "We're continuing to invest in the British shipbuilding industry to maintain the Royal Navy's cutting-edge ability to defend our nation, while strengthening our partnership with allies."

Source: BAE Systems

View gallery - 18 images
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6 comments
paul314
If all those parts won't withstand rough handling, it sure is a good thing the ships in question will never come under attack...
WB
I hope that this one - unlike the brit nuclear carrier - has any weapons... that carrier is the joke of the defense industry
White Rabbit
@WB: Since you didn't supply a name, class, or date for your "joke of the defense industry" it seems likely that "the brit nuclear carrier" to which you refer doesn't really exist. Aircraft carriers don't usually have deck guns! Those would get in the way of the aircraft they carry, launch and land!
The most recent additions to the British fleet are the Queen Elizabeth (QE) Class, the first of which was commissioned in 2017. They are equipped with a "cutting-edge weapons handling system, which can move armaments to the flight deck six times faster". Their armament consist of
3 × Phalanx CIWS
4 × 30-mm DS30M Mk2 guns
6 × Miniguns

Looks like the joke is on you!
jerryd
So little usefulness for such a large and uncomfortable/rolling, ship. It should be replaced with a 60m trimaran that could carry 4 helicopters and 4 larger drone boats could do those anti submarine duties a lot better at a fraction of the cost of helicopters fuel, etc costs.
The world of war has changed, large expensive easy to kill targets are not good on land, in air or on sea. Look how fast Ukraine took out Russia's fleet. A trimaran of equal hull sizes can take far more hits, is faster and carry more defensive, offensive weapons, less ship, crew.
ljaques
That's a beautiful ship with a supple design. Buuuuut, what'll happen to those delicate systems when they find an enemy sub and start dropping depth charges directly to the side and below it? Or it gets hit with a torpedo? (We're all mad because they didn't do the big sideways splashy thing.)
Karmudjun
Nice article David. And what a magnificent ship.
Reading the comments, I think you didn't "police" your terminology for the New Atlas level of the analytical readership. Half the comments picture the sensitive electronic systems for threat detection as flimsy or fragile when any mechanical engineer worth their salt would immediately suspect the builders are being a little careful before testing the bow or keel detector's durability. I'm sure in 6 years time these naysayers will not think the HMS Glascow is a Steel & Rice Paper warship.

But I see the joking and realize you either played into their hands - or they find it humorous that shipbuilders don't want to put stress on parts that haven't been endurance tested or really - tested in situ before. Everything is "digital" now, a digital twin is all the engineers have experience with, so I guess I should close with a "Doublemint, Doublemint, Doublemint Gum" - because the commercials all used twins....