"More good news?": Huge £1bn Denmark export deal for Type 31 ships expected with vessels set for Royal Navy
.jpg?width=96&crop=1:1,smart)
A large £1bn deal is expected to be agreed to export advanced British warships to Denmark.
An agreement is due to be made to build Type 31 frigates for the Danish Navy, according to the BBC. Defence giant Babcock is currently producing five general purpose frigates for the Royal Navy, which will be based in Portsmouth once they have been sworn into the fleet.
This comes after a £10bn agreement was secured to export Type 26 anti-submarine warships to the Royal Norwegian Navy. Liberal democrat MP for North Devon, Ian Roome, asked the defence secretary, John Healey, about the prospective Type 31 decision in parliament.
He told The House of Commons: “Following the announcement of Norway purchasing Type 26 frigates, there was speculation that the Danish Navy would place a significant order for the Type 31s. Will the secretary of state soon be able to give the UK more good news?”
Mr Healey responded: “This is the biggest British warship deal ever. It’s Norway’s biggest ever defence contract. When the Norwegian prime minister announced this deal, he said ‘we asked ourselves who is our best strategic partner, and who builds the best warships?’ The answer to both was Britain. We will work to ensure that that leads to other export contracts that will bring jobs to British industry.”
The first of the five ships, HMS Venturer, has been floated on the Firth of Forth and is currently in the dry dock as part of the fitting out process. Each Royal Navy ship, measuring 455ft in length and weighing 5,700 tonnes, is being built at a cost of £250m. The vessels are due to be ready by 2030.
Speaking about export deals, prime minister Sir Keir Starmer previously said: “Every country across Europe has increased their defence spending and they’re looking for countries to collaborate with on the defence building that they need to do. So Norway is first up. We’re talking to the Danish, we’re talking to Sweden, we’re talking to Turkey and other countries. So I hope this is only the first in what will be a series of contracts. That is down to you. It’s down to Scotland and Glasgow and what you and those before you’ve been doing for generations. I’m really pleased with this.”