David Dunlop, 14 July 2021
At the end of June, Prince William cut the first steel on HMS Belfast, the third ship in an eight-ship BAE Type 26 build. Belfast is being built under a GBP 3.7 billion (CAD 6.39 billion) contract awarded to BAE Systems in June 2017 for the first three of a planned class of eight ships. A contract for the second batch of five ships is expected in the early 2020s, with ship deliveries projected to run through to the mid-2030s. According to BAE Systems, work on the first two ships is progressing well. First-of-class HMS Glasgow, on which production was started in July 2017, was rolled out of the build hall in recent weeks. Meanwhile, about 40% of the units for second-in-class HMS Cardiff, which was started in August 2019, are in build, the shipyard said. Under original timelines the lead ship was expected to enter service in the early 2020s. Delays to the program, however, mean that HMS Glasgow is now expected to enter service in 2027, followed by the second and third ships at intervals of up to 18 months. At this rate, the first three Type 26 Frigates will either be in-service or ready for trials well ahead of the first Canadian Surface Combatant Frigate build start. When will the CSC Type 26 Frigate design phase be completed and contracts signed? God and the Canadian Government are the only ones who know and they're not talking. So much unnecessary secrecy!
https://ukdefencejournal.org.uk/construction-starts-on-third-type-26-frigate-hms-belfast/
5 thoughts on “HRH Prince William Cuts steel on 3rd Type 26 Frigate”
So, taking the $6.39 billion CDN and multiplying by 5, we would get a cost of about $32 billion for all 15 CSC ships – if they were built in the UK.
The PBO has estimated the total cost of the 15 CSC at $82 billion provided the construction starts in 2023.
Ergo, one big reason for the continued secrecy by Ottawa is to prevent Canadians from realizing that there will be $50 billion ‘premium’ for building the ships in Canada.
Yes, a thousand or so jobs will be supported by this enormous sum, but let’s call this huge difference by its real name….a boondoggle!
Don’t forget though that the first 3 of 8 BAE Type 26 frigate costs is just for the “build/take-away” and do not include the extras like ammo/missiles, crew, taxes etc. as the PBO report does. So $61B CAD for 15 CSC Frigates using DND’s estimates works out to be about $4B CAD per ship. A huge cost yes, but one that will more than likely come down as ships come off the line and get commissioned into the RCN.
Yes David I absolutely agree and I was just thinking the same way. The UK just announced that they will finally put their new hypersonic missile inside the MK41 launcher. Until now the 24 cells had nothing in them and the cost of these missiles and their integration into the combat system are not part of the building cost. So far the price of building the CSC seems very high but everything is accounted for in the equation. It seems to me that the purchase price will be high but the O & S cost will be much lower than anticipated by some experts. This is quite opposite to the fighter jet program where all effort was made to lower the acquisition cost of the F35 but its operating cost shows no sign of improvement and many defects are still to be fixed. The best alternative is the Gripen E that will be very affordable to operate and more easily upgraded over time.
Hello Mikael. Yes, the RCAF fighter replacement program does seem to be in more of a disarray than the CSC Frigate program. Yes, the BAE Type 26 will finally have at least one missile to fill their MK 41 silos. The Future Cruise/Anti-Ship Weapon (FCASW) will be fitted with them by 2028. The Gripen E/F option may be the best option for Canada, but the F35A still seems to be the front-runner so far. The Super Hornet though does have one advantage…..two engines!
Canada’s convoluted defence procurement costing system does include the cost of two years of ammunition and spares, but does not include the cost of crews and similar personnel and other operating costs like fuel.
True, the PBO does include provincial taxes of 10% which the federal government MUST pay in any event, so it is strange that Ottawa does not include these taxes in its estimates.
For an interesting discussion of the very close similarity in DND/Ottawa and PBO cost estimates, see the Defence Deconstructed podcast, “Costing CSC” ( February 26, 2021) between David Perry and Yves Giroux, Canada’s current PBO. ( https://www.cgai.ca/costing_csc)
And while DND officials continue to state that their estimate of total CSC costs ($56-60 billion) remains valid, note that they no longer claim that this will cover all 15 ships. It may prove to be that $56-60 billion is all that Cabinet has approved for the CSC project, and as Giroux notes in the podcast interview, the PBO remains convinced that its estimate of $82 billion remains correct, provided construction begins in 2023.
Time will tell who is right.