HMS Cardiff (Type 26 frigate)

HMS Cardiff is the second Batch 1 Type 26 frigate to be built for the United Kingdom's Royal Navy.[10] The first steel was cut on 14 August 2019.[11] The Type 26 class will partially replace the navy's thirteen Type 23 frigates,[12] and will be a multi-mission warship designed for anti-submarine warfare, air defence and general purpose operations.[2]

History
United Kingdom
Name:	HMS Cardiff
Namesake:	The city of Cardiff
Ordered:	2 July 2017
Builder:	BAE Systems
Laid down:	14 August 2019
Launched:	Suspected late 2023
Status:	Under construction
General characteristics
Type:	Type 26 frigate[1]
Displacement:	6,900 t (6,800 long tons; 7,600 short tons),[2] 8,000+ t full load[3][4]
Length:	149.9 m (492 ft)[2]
Beam:	20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)[2]
Propulsion:	CODLOG configuration:[5] Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine Four MTU diesel generators Two electric motors
Speed:	In excess of 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph)[2]
Range:	In excess of 7,000 nautical miles (13,000 km) in Electric-Motor (EM) drive[2]
Complement:	118[2] (capacity for 208)[2]
Sensors and processing systems:	Type 997 Artisan 3D radar Kelvin Hughes Ltd SharpEye navigation radar[6] Sonar 2087 (towed array sonar) Ultra Electronics Type 2150 bow sonar SCOT-5 satcom[5]
Electronic warfare & decoys:	IRVIN-GQ DLF decoys[5]
Armament:	Vertical launch Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles - 48 missiles in 12 quad-cells:[7] 24-cell strike-length Mark 41 Vertical Launching System for possible: Tomahawk, ASROC and LRASM[7][8] Guns: 1 × BAE 5 inch 62-calibre Mk 45 naval gun[9] 2 × 30 mm DS30M Mk2 guns[7] 2 × Phalanx CIWS[7] 2 × miniguns 4 × general purpose machine guns
Aircraft carried:	Wildcat,[7] armed with; 4 × anti-ship missiles, or 2 × anti-submarine torpedoes AgustaWestland Merlin,[7] armed with; 4 × anti-submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities:	Accommodation for two helicopters Large Chinook-capable flight deck Enclosed hangar Facilities for UAVs
Notes:	Flexible mission bay[7]

The frigate is currently being constructed at the BAE Systems shipyard in Govan, Glasgow along with her sister ships HMS Glasgow and Belfast and will be the second to enter production as part of the £3.7 billion contract for the three ships, announced by the MoD in 2017.[13]

References

1. "Ministry of Defence: SDSR 2015 Defence Fact Sheets" (PDF). 15 January 2016: 10. Retrieved 15 January 2016. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
2. BAE Systems. "Products - Global Combat Ship". Global Combat Ship. Retrieved 9 March 2017.
3. Chuter, Andrew (9 November 2014). "Britain Struggles With Costs for New Frigates". Defense News. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015.
4. "Defence: Type 26 Frigates", House of Lords Hansard, UK Parliament, column 6-7, 26 January 2015
5. "Q&A with BAE Systems on Type 26 Frigate Design Update at Euronaval 2012". Belgium: navyrecognition.com. 10 January 2013.
6. "New navigation radar system for Royal Navy". GOV.UK. Retrieved 24 July 2016. |section= ignored (help)
7. "Re Type 26 Global Combat Ship", Secretary of State, Ministry of Defence. parliament.uk, October 2014
8. "UK confirms Mk 41 VLS selection for Type 26" Archived 7 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine, janes.com, 4 December 2014
9. "£183 million deal for new gun on Type 26 Global Combat Ship sustains 43 skilled UK jobs". Royal Navy. 28 July 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
10. Allison, George (1 March 2018). "New Type 26 Frigate named HMS Cardiff". Retrieved 29 May 2020.
11. "First steel cut for HMS Cardiff". GOV.UK. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
12. Type 26 Global Combat Ship, royalnavy.mod.uk. Retrieved 23 January 2016.
13. Allison, George (1 March 2018). "New Type 26 Frigate named HMS Cardiff". Retrieved 29 May 2020.