The build of the future HMS Active, second of five Type 31 general purpose frigates contracted for the UK Royal Navy, has achieved another assembly milestone with the lift into place of the final stern unit.
In a 29 April 2025, social media post, manufacturer Babcock said the lift completed the flight deck of the frigate and cleared the way for the next major milestone of the so-called ‘drop stern’.
First-in-class of the Type 31 frigates HMS Venturer completed the drop stern process in Q1 2024, which sees the removal of support brackets and enables the aft of the ship to settle into its design position. The milestone is a significant step in warship manufacture as it requires a high level of structural maturity in order to be carried out.
If the build of HMS Active follows the same processes, with the final aft section now in place, upon completion of the future drop stern process, Babcock would then begin final positioning and welding of the stern tube and shaft support brackets, following by the shaft line installation itself.
In 2024 Babcock said progress on the second-in-class HMS Active was “good” following the steel cutting in January 2023 and keel laying ceremony in September of the same year.
Three of the five Type 31 frigates (HMS Venturer, HMS Active, and HMS Formidable) are now in various stages of build at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard, a significant, with all five theoretically due to enter service with the Royal Navy by 2030. A further two vessels, HMS Bulldog and HMS Campbeltown, will follow.
The fast pace of development, build, and planned commissioning of the Type 31 frigates is of paramount importance to the Royal Navy as it struggles to maintain a viable surface escort force.
At current pace, the time taken from first steel cut of a Type 31 frigate to planned service entry is around six years, significantly faster than the new Type 26 frigates also being manufactured for the Royal Navy by fellow UK defence prime BAE Systems.
The Type 31 frigates will also benefit from a planned capability insertion period early on in their service life, where it is thought that the US-origin Mk 41 vertical launch system (VLS) will be integrated. The most likely time for this will be during the reclassification process which occurs after six-to-seven years of operational service.
Specifications: Type 31 frigate
Intended to be light patrol frigates from the outset of the programme, the Type 31 has evolved to form a capable full-spectrum surface warship, thanks in no small part to the decision to use a design derived from the Danish Iver Huitdfelt-class frigates.
Expected to displace over 6,000 tonnes, the Type 31 class will be equipped with a 76mm main gun system from BAE Systems and two 40mm secondary guns from Saab Bofors. Additional small arms include 12.7mm heavy machine gun points.
Anti-air missile capability will be performed by small Sea Ceptor ‘mushroom farm’, which will be later replaced by a 32-cell MK 41 VLS that can also accommodate Tomahawk Block IV cruise missile for land and surface strike, as well as the Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FC/ASW) being developed by the UK and France.
Sensors include the Thales’ NS110 4D multi-beam AESA radar and Artemis 360 naval infrared search and track system, and Terma Scanter and Anschütz NSX navigation radars. In addition, the Type 31 frigates will also be equipped with the Mirador Mk2 electro-optical tracking sensors.
Will the Type 32 programme be axed?
However, the outcome of long-held plans for the development of the Type 32 frigate, thought likely to act as a crewed mothership to uncrewed mine countermeasure platforms, is less clear than the pace set by the Type 31 class.
In a parliamentary written answer on 29 April, UK Defence Procurement Minister Maria Eagle gave no reassurance to a question regarding plans to introduce the Type 32 class, citing only that the Ministry of Defence was “evaluating” force capabilities.
“Future capability plans for the Royal Navy will be part of the Strategic Defence Review,” Eagle said.
The Royal Navy’s minehunter force, comprised of the Sandown– and Hunt-class vessels, has been decimated by cuts in recent years, as efforts continue to develop uncrewed, and cheaper, alternatives to crewed warships.
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