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Workers at the BAE Systems shipyard at Govan have rolled out the forward half of HMS Cardiff, the second of the Royal Navy’s City Class frigates in a major milestone for the global combat ship program.
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This milestone will be shortly followed by the “rolling out” of the aft section of the future HMS Cardiff, following which BAE Systems engineers will prepare to join the whole ship together on the hardstand at the Glasgow shipyard on the river Clyde.
Sir Simon Lister, managing director of BAE Systems’ naval ships business welcomed this major milestone for the City Class program, saying, “The emergence of HMS Cardiff is a very proud moment for everyone involved in her construction. We have now completed all major units of the ship and in the coming weeks our skilled teams will consolidate the ship in preparation for float off next year.”
Following this, HMS Cardiff will undergo further structural work on the hardstand before being floated off and transported along the Clyde to BAE Systems’ Scotstoun facility in 2024.
“The rollout is a great milestone for the Type 26 program. It’s evidence of our solid progress on delivering the Type 26 program and presents an opportunity for us to celebrate the progress being made with our colleagues, our suppliers, our customer, and the cities of Cardiff and Glasgow,” Lister added.
The first vessel of the class, HMS Glasgow is currently undergoing the fitting out process at BAE Systems’ Scotstoun facility, with construction of all Type 26 frigates expected to be completed by the mid-2030s.
BAE Systems is currently building a £100 million-plus ship build hall at the Govan site, with HMS Cardiff to be the last of the frigates that will have its hull sections integrated on the hardstand in the open air; the remaining six ships will have the hull joining process take place under cover and will therefore be less weather dependent.
