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 frigates 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".

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 frigates. 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 destroyers 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 frigates, 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 Anzac-class frigate 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 Wave Knight-class tanker and River-class patrol vessel.

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 28 kn. 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 7000 nmi at 15 kn.

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 torpedos. 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 Guns and a number of miniguns and general-purpose machine guns.

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 carriers 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)."