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The UK Royal Navy’s next Type 26 City Class frigate, HMS Cardiff, is set to enter the water for the first time, with a major float off scheduled at BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard.
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HMS Cardiff has now departed BAE Systems’ Govan shipyard on the barge to be towed down river to a deep-water location in the West of Scotland. Once in position, and over a number of hours, the barge will submerge and the anti-submarine warfare frigate will enter the water.
David Shepherd, Type 26 program director, BAE Systems, said, “Seeing the latest ship in the water for the first time will be a proud and exciting moment for the thousands of people involved in this great national endeavour. The Type 26 has awesome and world-leading capability and we’re looking forward to installing HMS Cardiff’s complex systems and bringing her to life.”
Following the float off, HMS Cardiff will then return to BAE Systems’ Scotstoun shipyard where the ship will undergo the next stages of outfit before test and commissioning.
Pat Browning, Type 26 team leader, defence equipment and support, added, “We are delighted to have reached this key milestone in the build program for HMS Cardiff. This is a significant achievement for the entire Type 26 program team and is a moment we can all be proud of, as we continue to work towards delivering the new fleet of the Royal Navy’s most cutting-edge anti-submarine warfare frigates.”
BAE describes the float-off process as a more modern, efficient and low-risk way for a ship to enter the water, compared to the previous dynamic launches where ships were slid down a slipway into the water.
The float-off process was used for the first-of-class HMS Glasgow in November 2022 as well as the five offshore patrol vessels, which BAE Systems also built in Glasgow, the last of which was delivered to the Royal Navy in 2020.
Engineers from the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Equipment & Support, as well as members of the Royal Navy, will also support the float-off process.
Of the other three Type 26 vessels currently under construction, HMS Glasgow is undergoing the outfit of its combat and mission systems at Scotstoun and HMS Belfast and HMS Birmingham are under construction at Govan.
The build process for each ship involves its structure being completed in Govan where teams of fabricators and steelworkers construct the units before they are assembled into two main blocks which are joined together externally on the hard stand before the ship takes part in the float off and departs.
HMS Cardiff will be the last Type 26 to have this initial work partly constructed outside, as the new multi-million-pound shipbuilding hall in Govan will enable the teams to complete the structures of the remaining frigates indoors.
The ship’s outfit is completed and the complex systems are installed before test and commissioning take place in Scotstoun. As the first ship in class, HMS Glasgow is expected to enter service in 2028.
