Steel cutting begins on third Type 31 Inspiration-class frigate in UK
How the Type 31 frigates will look in service. (Image: Royal Navy/MoD Crown copyright)
HMS Formidable has begun steel cutting just 20 months after its predecessor vessel, HMS Active.
Defence company Babcock has begun steel cutting on the third Type 31 Inspiration-class frigate, HMS Formidable, at the company’s Scottish facility in Rosyth. The beginning of the shipbuilding process on the newest member of the five-ship fleet comes just 20 months after its predecessor vessel, HMS Active, began its own steel cutting. Meanwhile the first of the Type 31 frigates, HMS Venturer is approaching structural completion.
The remaining two vessels in the UK government’s procurement, HMS Bulldog and HMS Campbelltown, are expected to launch by 2027, by which time the total programme value of the Type 31 fleet, including systems and equipment, will have reached US$2.7 billion.
The Type 31 Inspiration-class is a general-purpose vessel intended to replace the Royal Navy’s Type 23 Duke-class frigates, which Babcock will also maintain until the replacement is complete.
Related Articles
Babcock to take over upkeep of Royal Navy Type-23 frigates
UK minister for the armed forces Luke Pollard said the new frigates would be at the heart of the Royal Navy fleet.
“Today’s significant milestone is backing the government’s mission to grow the economy by supporting thousands of jobs in Scotland and across the UK,” Pollard said at the steel-cutting ceremony.
Key to the Babcock bid for the frigate builds in 2019 was the company’s commitment to boosting jobs in the UK, not only throughout the build process but through the ongoing lives of the vessels.
Babcock has claimed it will create 1,000 new roles at Rosyth over the next four years, including 400 apprenticeships, 350 production support operatives, skilled engineers, tradespeople and graduates. The majority of these new roles, the company said, would support the Type 31 programme over the lifetime of the project.
The Type 31 programme has also been good for Babcock’s forward business, as its Arrowhead 140, the base design of the Type 31 frigate, has already been exported to both the Indonesian and Polish governments.
Related Equipment in Defence Insight
More from Naval Warfare
-
![MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system]()
MARSOC selects upgraded Shark Marine dive navigation system
MARSOC is procuring the Shark Marine Dive Tablet 2 to address a longstanding combat diver navigation capability gap, improving underwater positioning, situational awareness and integration with existing diver propulsion vehicles.
-
![SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort]()
SOF Week 2026: NSW expands commercial UxS push to maritime platforms as USASOC advances FPV drone effort
The US Army Special Operations Command and Naval Special Warfare are accelerating efforts to integrate commercial uncrewed systems, with NSW broadening its solicitation to include USVs and UUVs alongside new requirements for ISR, kinetic operations and swarm technologies.
-
![SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission]()
SOF Week 2026: US Navy USV completes record eight-day autonomous mission
The MARTAC T38 Devil Ray USV has set a new endurance benchmark as the US Navy pushes deeper into autonomous maritime warfare.
-
![UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender]()
UK Royal Navy dock build question remains open ahead of Programme Euston tender
The UK MoD’s Programme Euston floating dry dock tender has exposed a question about the UK’s naval industrial base: does Britain still have the depth to sustain its own deterrent without foreign intervention.
