Royal Navy’s first Type 26 frigate officially named HMS Glasgow

The first Type 26 frigate to be operated by the UK Royal Navy (RN) has been officially named HMS Glasgow.

The ship was formally named by Her Royal Highness The Princess of Wales in a ceremony at BAE Systems’ Scotstoun yard on the River Clyde on 22 May 2025.

The ceremony was marked by a flypast from a Royal Air Force P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft from CXX Squadron, which is based at RAF Lossiemouth. CXX Squadron will work in tandem with the RN’s Type 26 frigates in future anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations.

HMS Glasgow is scheduled to begin contractors’ sea trials (CST) before the end of 2025 that will test the ship’s systems, propulsion and overall performance at sea before the RN formally accepts the vessel. CSTs should be completed in 2026, after which the ship will be handed to the RN, with commissioning likely to follow soon after.

An extensive set of first-of-class trials, weapon and sensor validation, an additional capability insertion period, maintenance and Fleet Operational Standards and Training (FOST) certification should culminate in a declaration of full operating capability for the ship in late 2028.

The RN’s City class of Type 26 frigates will comprise eight ships in total, with the first three (Glasgow, Cardiff and Belfast) expected to enter the fleet before 2030. A further five ships (Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London) will join after 2030.

Cardiff is currently fitting out, while Belfast, Birmingham and Sheffield are under construction

The Type 26 frigates, which are 150 m long and displace 6,900 tonnes, are intended primarily for ASW operations and feature acoustically quiet hulls to reduce underwater noise from the two electric motors, four high-speed diesel generators and a gas turbine direct drive. The ships will be fitted with a Sonar 2150 hull-mounted sonar and a Sonar 2087 towed-array sonar system, with their main hangar accommodating a Merlin or Wildcat helicopter and a secondary hangar able to house an unmanned aerial vehicle.

The City-class frigates will boast significant air defence and surface warfare capabilities in the form of 12 vertical launch system (VLS) cells for the Sea Ceptor surface-to-air missile, another 24 multi-purpose MK 41 VLS cells, a MK 45 Mod 4.5-inch (114 mm) 62-calibre main gun and two Phalanx close-in weapon systems.

The Type 26’s main sensor is the Type 997 Artisan 3D medium-range surveillance radar.