European surface combatant construction: status report

European naval shipyards are enjoying buoyant conditions. Numerous projects for the construction of major surface combatants – destroyers, frigates and corvettes – are now passing through the production stage, often after many years of planning and design development. The challenging international security situation is also driving opportunities for additional sales, both in Europe and across the globe. This article describes the main construction programmes underway and assesses their current status.

 United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is undertaking what is currently Europe’s largest programme of major surface warship construction. Two separate frigate classes encompassing a total of 13 vessels have been ordered from two companies for completion in their respective Scottish shipyards. At the time of writing, seven of these ships are at varying stages of assembly. The extent of the activity now underway reflects a pause in surface combatant construction after the delivery of the final Type 45 destroyer, HMS Duncan, in September 2013 to focus available resources on building the two Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carriers. This hiatus has resulted in an increasingly urgent requirement for new frigates as much of the existing Royal Navy escort force reaches block obsolescence.

The larger and earlier frigate project is for eight Type 26 ‘City’ or Glasgow class vessels, sometimes also referred to as Global Combat Ships. This programme has a long history dating back as far as the 1990s but only came to fruition when a GBP 3.7 billion order for an initial batch of three ships was placed with BAE Systems in July 2017. This was followed by a GBP 4.2 billion contract for a further five vessels in November 2022, completing the class. The ships displace around 7,000 tonnes and will replace eight Royal Navy Type 23 frigates specifically configured for anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations. All ships are assembled at BAE Systems’ shipyard at Govan on the River Clyde before final outfitting at the neighbouring Yarrow facility. The order for the second batch of ships has unlocked a GBP 300 million modernisation programme across the two shipyards, including a new ship hall that will allow simultaneous assembly of two Type 26 frigates under cover. Whilst this will not be fully completed until 2025, work will be sufficiently advanced for the third member of the class to be assembled within its footprint from late 2024 onwards.

The Type 26 programme has progressed more slowly than initially anticipated due to the impact of Covid-19 and a number of technical problems. This will delay the lead ship’s projected entry into operational service from 2027 to 2028. However, the project is now picking up pace, with HMS Glasgow in the course of final outfitting at Yarrow before commencing her trials programme in 2025 and the second ship, HMS Cardiff, joining her at the yard after being floated out in September 2024. Constituent blocks for the third and fourth Type 26s are also in the course of fabrication.  Final completion of the ship hall is expected to accelerate build times from the nine years required for the lead ship to as little as five years for the final vessel. This would bring construction schedules broadly in line with international competitors. It is also intended that the interval separating the commencement of work on each ship to be reduced to 12 from 18 months

The other programme is for five Type 31 ‘Inspiration’ or Venturer class frigates. These were ordered from Babcock International under a contract valued in excess of GB 1.25 billion in November 2019 and are based on that company’s ‘Arrowhead 140’ design; itself a variant of the Danish Iver Huitfeldt class. Displacing about 6,000 tonnes, they will replace those Type 23 frigates allocated to general-purpose duties. Work on the lead ship began in another new, purpose-built ship hall at the group’s Rosyth shipyard in September 2021 and assembly of the first three vessels is currently underway. As of October 2024, however, none of these three ships had been launched. The project has also undergone some teething problems, with Babcock being faced to take a total of GBP 190 million of provisions on the fixed-price contract. It seems possible that HMS Venturer’s planned entry into service in mid-2027 may also be delayed.

Both frigate designs have been subject to export success. The Type 26 design has formed the basis for six (reduced from nine as a result of the February 2024 surface fleet review) Australian Hunter class frigates and up to 15 Canadian ‘River’ class destroyers (formerly known as Canadian Surface Combatants). Official construction of the first Australia ship commenced at BAE Systems’ Osborne yard in South Australia in June 2024 and work on an initial production test module for the Canadian project started at Irving’s Halifax shipyard during the same month.  Meanwhile, the Type 31’s ‘Arrowhead 140’ parent design forms the basis for two Indonesian ships as well as the Polish Navy’s new  ‘Miecznik’ or Wicher class frigates. Babcock’s design was selected for licensed production in 2022, with fabrication of the first of three ships commencing in yet another new ship hall at the PGZ Stocznia Wojenna shipyard in Gdynia in August 2023 prior to formal keel-laying in January 2024. Current plans envisage the lead ship being completed in 2029, with the remainder of the programme following by 2032.

France

French surface combatant construction is focused on the ‘frégate de défense et d’intervention’ (FDI) project, which is being carried out at Naval Group’s shipyard at Lorient in Brittany. Developed as part of efforts to offer a more-cost effective alternative to the Franco-Italian multi-mission FREMM frigates, the EUR 3.8 billion programme was officially inaugurated in May 2015 to replace the existing La Fayette class frigates. This was followed by the award of manufacturing contracts in April 2017. Displacing around 4,500 tonnes, the ships offer powerful general-purpose capabilities in a relatively compact hull. One of the project’s specific objects was to achieve a more attractive proposition for export sales. The design has often been marketed as the ‘Belh@rra’ in export campaigns.

Fabrication of FS Amiral Romarc’h, the lead French ship, commenced at Lorient in October 2019. She was launched in November 2022 and commenced sea trials in October 2024 in advance of a planned delivery in 2025. Four other members of the class should be delivered between 2027 and 2032. These dates have been delayed from original intentions to prioritise construction of the type’s first export order, which was finalised with Greece in March 2022. The three-ship order has a reported cost of EUR 2.3 billion (excluding support and weapons), with the option for the fourth vessel priced at EUR 720 million.

The ships being built under the Greek contract will be known as the Kimon class. Recent press reports suggest that the option for the fourth vessel is likely to be exercised imminently. The class will incorporate detailed differences from their French sisters. Construction of the lead ship began in October 2022 and was followed by launch a year later. A sister, HS Nearchos, was launched in September 2024 and work on the third ship is also underway. Greek industry has been involved in the project, constructing blocks for both Greek and French vessels. Reports at the time the contract was signed suggested the first two frigates would be delivered in 2025 and the third in 2026; a schedule that might prove to be optimistic.

Ultimate completion of the FDIs will leave Lorient without an obvious programme of future construction given French naval funding is heavily committed to the PANG aircraft carrier, SNLE-3G submarines and – to a lesser extent – new logistic support ships and offshore patrol vessels. This will leave the yard heavily dependent on securing further export work to maintain continuity of production.

 Germany

Germany is another European country that has two major programmes of surface construction underway. The most significant is that for six F126 Niedersachsen class frigates, previously known as the MKS-180. The project was approved in June 2020 and is being led by the Dutch Damen group. However, physical construction of separate forward and aft sections is being carried out by NVL and German Naval Yards at, respectively, Wolgast and Kiel prior to final fitting out at NVL’s famous Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg. The initial approval encompassed four vessels at a cost of around EUR 5.7 billion, including a number of mission modules, but this has subsequently increased to well over EUR 6 billion. Authorisation to exercise the two options was subsequently obtained in June 2024 at an additional estimated total cost, including additional modules, of EUR 3.1 billion. The F126 frigates will replace the four members of the F123 Brandenburg class.

The Niedersachsen class are large, general purpose frigates of around 10,500 tonnes displacement. Their design encompasses the use of interchangeable mission modules to enhance their operational flexibility. Construction of the lead ship began at the Peene-Werft (Wolgast) shipyard in December 2023 and was followed by a formal keel-laying ceremony in June 2024. Planned delivery in mid-2028 looks a challenging target given delays encountered with other recent German naval programmes. The sixth and final ship is scheduled for delivery in 2034.

Germany is also building a second batch of five smaller, 1,900 tonne K-130 Braunschweig class corvettes as part of efforts to utilise shipyard capacity until production of the F126 class has fully ramped-up. Total programme cost was initially estimated at approximately EUR 2.5 billion. The contract for the ships’ construction followed delivery of a first batch of five of the type between 2008 and 2013. It was placed with the ARGE K-130 consortium led by what is now NVL and also including German Naval Yards and thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (tkMS) in September 2017. In similar fashion to the F126 programme, sections have been allocated to various yards before final integration in Hamburg. Fabrication of FGS Köln – the lead ship of this batch – commenced in February 2019.  At this time, her delivery was expected in November 2022.

By mid-2022 it had become apparent that this delivery timetable had slipped, primarily due to problems with combat system integration. Although Köln has undertaken preliminary sea trials and been used for initial crew training since late 2023, it will not be until 2025 at the earliest before she enters operational service. The remainder of the class will also be delayed, whilst programme costs have also increased. These difficulties may have contributed to the decision not to proceed with a mooted third batch. Instead, the German Navy’s ‘Vision 2035+’ force structure plan assumes between six and nine of the class remaining in service in the longer term, supplemented by larger numbers of uncrewed surface craft.

Germany also has longer term plans to acquire another new frigate class – designated the F127 – to replace the three air defence ships of the F124 Sachsen class. The project is still in the developmental phase but it is likely that the ships will be equipped with the US Navy’s Aegis combat management technology. tkMS is heavily promoting a design based on its 10,000 tonne MEKO A400 AMD concept in the hope of regaining its previous prominent place in the German Navy’s surface ship construction programmes. In September 2024, it announced a planned joint venture with NVL to pursue the contract in a development that could overturn Damen’s previous success in the German market.

Italy

The Italian Navy has an ambitious programme of naval construction underway involving several strands. One of these relates to continued evolution of the FREMM multi-mission frigate design. Ten ships of the type were originally ordered for construction at Fincantieri’s integrated shipyard at Riva Trigoso and Muggiano in northern Italy, where production is now drawing to a close on an additional pair of vessels contracted in replacement for two transferred to Egypt to conclude a rapid export deal in 2020. Subsequently, in July 2024, a EUR 1.5 billion contract was signed with the Orrizonte Sistemi Navali consortium of Fincantieri and Leonardo for two of a FREMM EVO variant of the type for delivery in 2029 and 2030. The new ships will incorporate equipment developed since the FREMM programme was first inaugurated, including Leonardo’s dual-band ‘Kronos’ radar.

Another element of the surface combatant programme encompasses the PPA type multi-role offshore patrol vessels of the Paolo Thaon di Revel class. Ordered at a cost of EUR 3.8 billion under Italy’s ‘Naval Law’ of 2014, these ships have been completed with varying levels of equipment by Fincantieri’s integrated shipyard but are essentially general purpose patrol frigates in all but name. Displacement is in the region of 6,250 tonnes. Fabrication of the lead ship commenced at Muggiano in February 2017, with delivery taking place in March 2022 after a delay of several months that resulted from the Covid-19 pandemic. The launch of ITS Domenico Millelire, the final vessel of Italy’s seven-ship programme, at Riva Trigoso in July 2024 has brought the initial programme close to its completion. However, again, the sale of two of the vessels overseas will result in a requirement for replacements. The March 2024 export contract encompassed the transfer of the fifth and six members of the class to Indonesia at a reported price of EUR 1.2 billion. Fincantieri also continues to pursue a number of other export campaigns for the type.

 The Italian Navy is also reportedly close to ordering two new DDX destroyers to replace the existing ships of the Durand de la Penne class. Development work on the new vessels, which will be optimised for anti-air warfare, has been underway for a number of years. The completed ships are likely to displace in excess of 10,000 tonnes, rivalling Germany’s F126 and F127 classes for the title of Europe’s largest surface escorts.

Spain

Spain’s Navantia is currently focused on delivering the five F110 frigates of the Bonifaz class that will replace the navy’s six existing FFG-7 Santa María class vessels. Displacing around 6,100 tonnes, the new frigates are general-purpose vessels but have an ASW emphasis. They are equipped with the AN/SPY-7 radar and Lockheed Martin International Aegis Fire Control Loop, which is linked to an indigenous SCOMBA combat management system. A contract reportedly valued at EUR 4.3 billion for the ships’ construction was signed in April 2019 after over a decade of developmental work. Assembly is taking place at the group’s Ferrol shipyard in Galicia, which hosted a keel-laying ceremony for the first of class in August 2023. As of mid-2024, it was reported that the ship remained on track for a 2028 delivery, with sister ships following her at an annual drumbeat until 2032. The Spanish Navy are reportedly attempting to secure funding for additional units to, at the least, maintain the size of the existing fleet.

The Netherlands and Belgium

The Royal Netherlands Navy and Belgian Naval Component are in the course of modernising their surface fleets through the joint procurement of two pairs of Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigates (ASWFs). The project forms part of a wider programme of joint acquisitions that also includes the rMCM initiative to acquire mine countermeasures motherships. The ASWF element of the programme is being led by the Netherlands, with Damen acting as prime contractor. Following protracted design discussions, the project received final political approval in June 2023, with construction contracts being signed the same month. In common with other recent Dutch warships, the ships will be fabricated in Damen’s shipyard at Galati in Romania prior to final outfitting in Vlissingen. Programme cost has been reported as EUR 4 billion for the first four ships.

As suggested by their nomenclature, the ASWFs have a primary ASW orientation, albeit with the addition of powerful general purpose capabilities that could ultimately extend to long-range land attack and ballistic missile defence. Displacement is approximately 6,400 tonnes. A series of equipment selection announcements has followed the contract award but actual construction is not scheduled to begin until 2025. Deliveries are scheduled between 2029 and 2032. In September 2024, the Netherlands announced plans to acquire two additional ships, bringing the total programme to six frigates.

The Netherlands also has a longer-term requirement to replace the existing quartet of LCF air defence and command frigates on a like-for-like basis. It was originally hoped that this might be taken forward as a joint programme with Germany. However, Germany’s seeming preference for the Aegis system over Dutch technology makes it likely that this will be taken forward as a purely national project.

Scandinavia

Finland’s flagship ‘Squadron 2020’ naval project involves the construction of four, 4,300 tonne frigate-sized ‘corvettes’ to replace seven older vessels. The project was formally launched in 2015 after several years of preliminary research and development, this being followed by the award of a construction contract to Rauma Marine Constructions (RMC) in 2019. The detailed design process was far more complicated than originally anticipated and it was only in October 2023 that fabrication began at RMC’s Rauma shipyard in the Gulf of Bothnia. This was followed by a keel laying ceremony for the lead ship, FNS Pohjanmaa, in April 2024. Work on the second vessel is now also underway. In spite of previous programme delays, it is hoped to commence sea trials of the first ship in 2026 and complete the entire programme by 2029. Programme cost was estimated at EUR 1.3 billion in 2019 but this seems likely to be exceeded.

Sweden is at an earlier stage of fleet renewal.  Project definition studies for what was initially intended to be a ‘Visby 2’ iteration of the existing corvette class commenced in 2021 but subsequent reports suggest the requirement will be for much larger ships similar to the ‘Squadron 2020 vessels’. Saab is working on the design of the new ships with engineering support from the United Kingdom’s Babcock International under a contract signed in May 2024. Four vessels of what will be known as the Luleå class are planned, with deliveries of the lead pair expected by the end of the current decade. Local press reports speculate that the ships’ hulls will be built abroad prior to final outfitting at Karlskrona, potentially putting Babcock’s Rosyth facility in pole position to play a continued role in the programme.

Concluding Remarks

It can be seen from this brief overview of current projects that Europe’s naval shipyards have now left the lean years of the post-Cold War era behind them, enjoying order books stretching into the next decade and, sometimes, beyond. Moreover, additional requirements are already on the horizon, including the British Type 83 and Type 32 destroyer/frigate programmes and Norway’s recently announced plans to acquire at least five new major surface combatants. The extent of this demand is providing the opportunity to upgrade often ageing shipyards, with new ship halls and other improved facilities springing up across the continent. If managed correctly, the prospect of a modernised, more efficient European naval sector that is better able to compete against emerging rivals in Asia and elsewhere could be at hand.

Conrad Waters