'Substantial' measures so new Type 31 Royal Navy frigates are built on time - when they'll be in Portsmouth

Work to construct new Type 31 frigates is ongoing at the Babcock shipyard in Rosyth, Scotland. The five Inspiration-class ships, alongside the submarine-hunting Type 26 frigates, will replace their ageing Type 23 counterparts.

Doubts were cast over the timeframe of the project in the 2024-2025 National Infrastructure & Service Transformation Authority Annual Report. The scheme was graded red, which means a programme needs to be rescoped to be delivered on time, fully costed, and to the sufficient quality set out.

James MacCleary, Liberal Democrat MP for Lewes, asked the Ministry of Defence (MoD) what measures are being taken to accelerate procurement. Minister of defence readiness and industry, Luke Pollard, said some of the work to speed up the programme is taking place at Portsdown Technology Park in Portsmouth.

“Progress is being made on the Type 31 (T31) programme, with a substantial investment made in Babcock's facilities at Rosyth,” he added. “This includes digitising the shipyard, new manufacturing facilities and a new purpose-built Assembly Hall that enables two Type 31s to be built simultaneously.

“In addition, there has been the generation of a Shore Integration facility at Portsdown Technology Park, to mitigate risks to the integration of the combat system. The MoD continues to work closely with Babcock, the prime contractor, to ensure the T31 programme meets all user requirements to deliver a maritime security capability at a value for money price, in a timescale that is competitive with other international warship procurement programmes.”

How close are Type 31 frigates to joining the Royal Navy fleet?

The five new ships - HMS Venturer, Active, Formidable, Bulldog, and Campbelltown - are projected to enter the Royal Navy fleet in the late 2020s and early 2030s. These Inspiration-class General Purpose vessels, due to be based in Portsmouth, will be used for various operations such as security patrols, anti-drug smuggling missions, disaster relief tasks, and other scenarios.

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Navy Lookout reports that the programme has moved to the serial production phase, with multiple hulls being worked on at the same time. It said construction of HMS Venturer has acted as a prototype for construction processes and sequencing. Each frigate is constructed from nine structural units, which are then brought together at the Venturer Assembly Hall. Around 900 people are employed on the programme, with 200 working on the panel line.

Ministers have said HMS Venturer is “scheduled to be ready for operations by the end of the decade”, giving a lot of flexibility for how the handover is handled from the contractor to the Royal Navy for full operational status.

She will come out of the dry dock soon, with HMS Active taking her place and due top be rolled out from the Hall later this month. The steel cutting ceremony for the fourth ship, HMS Bulldog, is expected to be completed on the same day. The assembly of HMS Formidable was advanced in October 2025, with the keel laid in December.