Global Combat Ship The Global Combat Ship ( GCS ) also known as the Type 26 Global Combat Ship and sometimes referred to simply as the Type 26 , is a ship design and construction programme currently under way by the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom . It will replace the thirteen Type 23 frigate s of the Royal Navy and export orders are being sought . The programme has been in development since 1998 , initially under the designation " Future Surface Combatant ( FSC ) " . In March 2010 BAE Systems Surface Ships was awarded a four year contract to develop the Type 26 Global Combat Ship . The design has passed Main Gate 1 and detailed design is under way with a final decision to be made in early 2015 . Under current plans , first steel will be cut by the end of 2015 and that the Type 26 will " enter service as soon as possible after 2020 " . Development . Future Surface Combatant . The Global Combat Ship started development under the original Future Surface Combatant ( FSC ) programme intended to replace the Royal Navy ' s Type 22 and Type 23 frigate s . Planning for a replacement escort vessel started in 1998 with the ordering of a research vessel , the RV " Triton " , to study whether a trimaran design was practical for such a large and complex vessel . However , by the early 2000s it was apparently obvious the Royal Navy favoured more conventional designs . In March 2005 , plans were released for a two - class solution , a cheaper " Medium Sized Vessel Derivative " entering service in 2016 - 19 and a more capable " Versatile Surface Combatant " entering service around 2023 . In early 2006 the MoD started a Sustained Surface Combatant Capability ( S2C2 ) programme which explored synergies between the FSC and other needs , for minesweepers , patrol ships and survey ships . By early 2007 this had crystallised into the three requirements ; C1 , C2 and C3 . C1 , ( formerly Versatile Surface Combatant ) was to be an Anti Submarine Warfare task group enabled platform and would displace around 6 , 000 tonnes . C2 , ( formerly Medium Sized Vessel Derivative ) was to be a more general purpose platform displacing somewhere in the region of 4 - 5 , 000 tonnes , and C3 was to be a Global Corvette to replace a larger number of smaller vessel in service , such as minesweepers , patrol and survey ships . The Global Corvette was to displace around 2 - 3 , 000 tonnes . The C3 found its roots in early 2004 when the MoD issued a Request for Information ( RFI ) for a smaller class of ship known as the Global Corvette . Low running costs and the ability to operate forward in shallow , coastal areas where larger ships cannot , were both important . BAE Systems , VT Group , Thales and Rolls - Royce responded in autumn 2004 with concepts ranging from a well equipped Offshore Patrol Vessel ( OPV ) of 1 , 500 tonnes to an advanced and very capable " corvette " of 3 , 000 tonnes , along the lines of the USN ' s Littoral Combat Ship programme ( LCS ) . The FSC concept was brought forward in the 2008 budget , at the expense of options for two Type 45 destroyer s not being taken up ( ships 7 and 8 ) . In 2009 BAE Systems received a contract to design the C1 and C2 frigates with a planned 25 year life . A total of 18 vessels ( 10 C1 and 8 C2 ) were planned to enter service from 2020 , at a pace of roughly one per year . In early 2010 the C3 variant was dropped for the Mine Countermeasures , Hydrography and Patrol Capability programme ( MHPC ) . Contract awarded . On 24 February 2010 , First Sea Lord Sir Mark Stanhope referred to the Future Surface Combatant as the " Type 26 frigate " during a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies ( IISS ) . This designation was repeated during a House of Commons debate on defence on 15 March 2010 . On 25 March 2010 , BAE Systems were given a four - year , £127 million contract by the UK Ministry of Defence ( MoD ) , to fully design the Type 26 Global Combat Ship ( formerly C1 of the FSC ) . It was confirmed that the first of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships is expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy by 2020 . The October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review ( SDSR ) reaffirmed the government ' s commitment to the Type 26 GCS - " As soon as possible after 2020 the Type 23 will be replaced by Type 26 frigates , designed to be easily adapted to change roles and capabilities depending on the strategic circumstances " . Under the SDSR the two classes of the former Future Surface Combatant , previously known as the C1 and the C2 variants , were merged into the Type 26 Global Combat Ship . The Type 26 combines advantages of both variants into a versatile ship , designed to readily change roles and capabilities depending on the strategic circumstances . As part of the review it was also announced that the remaining Type 22 frigates would be decommissioned without replacement within 6 months of the review . This leaves the Royal Navy ' s escort fleet at 19 destroyers and frigates ( 6 Type 45 destroyers and 13 Type 23 frigates ) . Unlike the FSC , the Global Combat Ship will have only one hull design . However like the Franco - Italian family of FREMM multipurpose frigate s , three versions are proposed : a design optimised for anti - submarine warfare ( ASW ) , an anti - aircraft warfare ( AAW ) variant , and a general purpose ( GP ) variant . Possible partnerships . Britain needs foreign sales to keep the per - unit costs of the new frigates low enough to make them affordable . As of 31 January 2011 Malaysia , Australia , New Zealand , and Turkey had all expressed interest in collaborating on the Global Combat Ship , and the UK was in " close discussion " with Canada . A Canadian union campaigned that the Global Combat Ship threatened Canadian shipbuilders and in the run - up to the May 2011 election a spokesman for the Canadian Defence Minister ruled out involvement with the British programme . Turkey also later rejected the design as not meeting its requirements . In January 2010 , " Jane ' s Defence Weekly " reported that the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia were exploring the potential for cooperation on the C1 and C3 designs , which corresponds closely to the Royal Australian Navy ' s requirements in replacing its MEKO - 200 with a new frigate type ( Project SEA 5000 ) . An initial decision for the frigate replacement is not expected until at least 2018 . When the two countries signed a defence cooperation treaty in January 2013 the Australians agreed to collaborate on their frigate requirement and investigate involvement in the Type 26 project . The British and Brazilian governments agreed on a defence partnership that may lead to the sale of five or six Type 26 frigates to the Brazilian Navy . In October 2010 , BAE made a detailed proposal to the Brazilian navy , for a package including Type 26 frigates as well as variants of the and . In August 2011 it was reported that the UK Government , together with BAe Systems , was considering entering into partnership with the Indian MoD and private defence shipyards in India to jointly design and build the Type 26 / Global Combat Ship . Characteristics . BAE ' s original working baseline for the Type 26 design was a vessel of 141 metres long with a displacement of 6 , 850 tonnes and an " in service date " of 2021 . On 30 November 2010 it was reported that the specifications had been pared to reduce the cost from £500M to £250 - 350M per ship . By May 2011 new specification details began to emerge of a smaller 5 , 400 tonne ship emphasising flexibility and modularity like the German Blohm + Voss GmbH MEKO designs . The new design has a length of 148 metres , a beam of 19 metres and a top speed in excess of . Type 26 will have a crew of 118 with room for 72 embarked troops . Type 26 is designed for up - to 60 days ' endurance and a range of approximately at . Global Combat Ship is designed with modularity and flexibility in mind to enhance versatility across the full range of operations , including maritime security , counter piracy , counter terrorist and humanitarian and disaster relief operations . Located in the stern is a mission bay with a ramp allowing for the deployment of rigid - hulled inflatable boats , unmanned surface vehicles or a towed array sonar ( Sonar 2087 ) . Early designs had a well deck at the back for launching and recovering unmanned undersea vehicles ( UUVs ) . The latest BAE design now has a large midships flexible Mission Deck instead of the well deck . Aircraft similar in size to the Boeing Chinook can be flown off the large flight deck , and the hangar can accommodate Royal Navy Wildcats and Merlin helicopters . The flight deck also includes an extra hangar door and space to accommodate Unmanned Aerial Vehicles . Royal Navy ships will be equipped with the Artisan Type 997 3D search radar and Sea Ceptor ( CAMM ) air - defence missiles launched via 48 VLS canisters . An additional 16 - cell or 24 - cell " Main Strike Length " VLS ( either the American Mk 41 or European SYLVER A70 ) is positioned forward of the bridge capable of firing missiles such as Tomahawk land - attack cruise missiles , anti - ship missiles and quad packed Sea Ceptor missiles . ( The design is modular : strike length silos can be added to the maximum of 24 or reduced to zero depending on buyer requirements . ) Like the Type 23 frigate it will replace , Type 26 Global Combat Ship will have an acoustically quiet hull for anti - submarine warfare and will be armed with Sting Ray acoustic homing torpedo s . Each Type 26 will be fitted with a Thales Underwater Systems Type 2050 bow sonar , while eight vessels will be equipped with an additional powerful towed array sonar ( e . g . Sonar 2087 ) recycled from the Type 23s . The Type 26 will also be fitted with guns of various calibres . Instead of the RN ' s traditional 4 . 5 " gun it is expected to have a NATO - standard 5 " main gun , either the Otobreda 127 / 64 or BAE Mark 45 . Smaller guns include two Phalanx CIWS , two 30mm DS30M Mark 2 Automated Small Calibre Gun s and a number of minigun s and general - purpose machine gun s . The propulsion system of the RN ships will have a gas turbine direct drive and four high speed diesel generators driving two electric motors in a CODLOG configuration . In 2012 Rolls Royce repackaged the MT30 used in the Queen Elizabeth class aircraft carrier s so that it would fit into smaller ships , and it is likely the Type 26 will use the MT30 . BAE have suggested that some customers will install gas turbine engines and others will prefer to sacrifice 2 - 3 knots of speed by choosing cheaper diesel engines . The choice of CODLOG configuration for propulsion is somewhat surprising as it is a simpler version of the CODLAG propulsion used on the Type 22 which this ship is to replace , and both of the Type 26 ' s design contemporaries - the Queen Elizabeth class Aircraft Carrier and the Type 45 Destroyer - use integrated electric propulsion ( IEP ) . Ships of the class . The Royal Navy is expected to commission the class as a replacement for the thirteen Type 23 frigates currently in service . The first vessel is due to enter service with the Royal Navy sometime during 2021 and by the mid - 2030s the Type 26 will be the backbone and workhorses of the Royal Navy . On May 24 , 2012 , Peter Luff during a Commons Debate responded to a question regarding the number of ships to be ordered saying , " I can confirm that the Ministry of Defence ' s current planning assumption is for the construction of thirteen Type 26 Global Combat Ships ( GCS ) . "