British anti-submarine frigate adopted by Australia, Canada and Norway — over 30 hulls planned. Key figures: displacement 8,000 tons, length 150 m, top speed 26 knots, crew 157, unit cost $1.6B, built 8. In service with 4 navies — Australia, Canada, Norway and 1 other.
| Subtype | Anti-submarine frigate |
| Displacement | 8000 tons |
| Crew | 157 members |
| Width | 20.8 m (68.2 ft) |
| Length | 149.9 m (491.8 ft) |
| Propulsion | CODLOG: Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine + 4 diesel generators, 2 electric motors |
| Range | 7,000 nm |
| Maximum speed | 26 knots |
The Type 26, or City class, is the Royal Navy's next-generation anti-submarine warfare frigate and the basis of the Global Combat Ship programme — the most successful British warship export design in decades. Eight ships will replace the submarine-hunting Type 23s, built at BAE Systems' Glasgow yards. Steel was cut on the lead ship HMS Glasgow in 2017. Contractor sea trials have slipped to late 2026 or early 2027, with acceptance by the Royal Navy expected in 2027 and a further period of operational and weapons trials before full operating capability.
Displacing about 8,000 tonnes for 149.9 meters, the Type 26 is optimised for quietness: a CODLOG arrangement lets it hunt submarines on silent electric drive, with a Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine for sprint speeds above 26 knots and a range in excess of 7,000 nautical miles. Armament combines a 24-cell Mk 41 strike-length VLS, 48 Sea Ceptor air-defence missiles, a 127 mm gun and 30 mm mounts, plus a large reconfigurable mission bay and a hangar for a Wildcat or Merlin helicopter. The Type 2087 towed array sonar is carried over from the Type 23.
The design swept the Anglosphere frigate competitions: Australia is building six as the Hunter class, Canada fifteen as the River-class destroyers, and Norway selected the type in 2025 for five ships, giving a combined programme of more than 30 hulls. UK ships are named after cities — Glasgow, Cardiff, Belfast, Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London.
BAE Systems Australia laid the keel of NUSHIP Hunter at Osborne on 24 August 2026, starting hull assembly on the first of six ships and taking the British Type 26 design to 34 hulls ordered across the Royal Navy, Australia, Canada and Norway.