Norway to buy British frigates in $14 billion deal

MILAN — The Norwegian Navy will be equipped with British-made warships designed for anti-submarine warfare as part of the country’s largest defense capability investment to date, the Norwegian government said.

The Nordic country has selected the United Kingdom as a strategic partner for the procurement of new Type-26 frigates, primarily manufactured by BAE Systems. The deal, worth $13.5 billion, will entail the supply of at least five warships, which will be built at BAE’s Glasgow shipyards.

The deal represents a significant win for the British defense industry, as the bidding process has been ongoing for nine months, during which Norwegian authorities also considered French, German, and U.S. options.

“It has been a difficult choice, the four candidates have provided strong and competitive proposals – they are all close allies … the extensive cooperation on security and defense policy will continue at full strength with all of them,” Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said .

With initial deliveries slotted to begin in 2030, Oslo intends to operate the frigates for the coming decades and has planned to equip them with anti-submarine-capable helicopters, although no decision has been made regarding the type.

A notable element of the draft agreement is that the Norwegian and the British Navy’s own vessels will be “as identical as possible” and have been requested to have matching specifications. According to Norway’s defense minister Tore O. Sandvik, the decision stemmed from a desire to increase interoperability to a maximum, drive down costs and ease joint maintenance.

The official even went on to say that it could create the opportunity to use Norwegian and British crews interchangeably and joint training of personnel, as part of the larger framework of the countries’ strategic partnership.

Some of the primary weapons and sensors for the U.K. Type 26 include a medium-caliber gun, Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles produced by MBDA, and BAE’s medium-range Artisan 3D radar capable of detecting small and fast targets, per the company’s website.

There are currently eight Type-26 warships being produced by BAE destined for the Royal Navy to replace its older Type 23 frigates. Similar variants have also been ordered by Australia and Canada.

Elisabeth Gosselin-Malo was a Europe correspondent for Defense News. She covers a wide range of topics related to military procurement and international security, and specializes in reporting on the aviation sector. She is based in Milan, Italy.

米兰——挪威政府表示，作为该国迄今为止规模最大的国防能力投资的一部分，挪威海军将配备英国制造的反潜战舰。

这个北欧国家已选择英国作为其采购新型26型护卫舰的战略合作伙伴，这些护卫舰主要由英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）制造。这项价值135亿美元的交易将包括至少五艘军舰的供应，这些军舰将在英国航空航天系统公司位于格拉斯哥的造船厂建造。

这项交易对英国国防工业来说是一项重大胜利，因为竞标过程已经持续了九个月，在此期间，挪威当局还考虑了法国、德国和美国的方案。

挪威首相乔纳斯·加尔·斯特勒表示：“这是一个艰难的选择，四位候选人都提出了强有力的、有竞争力的方案——他们都是亲密的盟友……我们将继续与他们所有人全力开展安全和国防政策方面的广泛合作。”

奥斯陆计划从 2030 年开始交付这些护卫舰，并打算在未来几十年内运营这些护卫舰，同时计划为其配备反潜直升机，但尚未决定采用哪种型号。

该协议草案的一个显著特点是，挪威和英国海军的舰艇将“尽可能相同”，并被要求具备一致的规格。挪威国防部长托雷·桑德维克表示，此举旨在最大限度地提高互操作性，降低成本，并简化联合维护。

这位官员甚至还表示，这可以创造机会，让挪威和英国的船员可以互换使用，并进行人员联合培训，这是两国战略伙伴关系更大框架的一部分。

据该公司网站介绍，英国 26 型护卫舰的一些主要武器和传感器包括一门中口径火炮、MBDA 生产的“海捕手”防空导弹，以及 BAE 的中程“匠人”3D 雷达，该雷达能够探测小型和快速目标。

目前，英国航空航天系统公司（BAE Systems）正在为英国皇家海军生产八艘26型护卫舰，用于替换其老旧的23型护卫舰。澳大利亚和加拿大也订购了类似的改进型。

伊丽莎白·戈斯林-马洛曾任《防务新闻》欧洲通讯员。她的报道涵盖军事采购和国际安全等广泛领域，尤其擅长航空领域的报道。她常驻意大利米兰。