Construction has begun on the Royal Navy's latest Type 26 frigate, HMS Sheffield, with the first steel being cut in a ceremony in Glasgow. The official beginning of construction was marked by an event attended by Defense Procurement Minister Maria Eagle.
The first of eight new Type 26 frigates being built for the Royal Navy has been named HMS Glasgow. The name was revealed by Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon as he cut the first steel on the ship at BAE System's Govan shipyard. The last HMS Glasgow, a Type 42 Destroyer, was awarded the Falkland Islands 1982 battle honor. The new anti-submarine warfare frigates will be known as the City Class.
UK arms manufacturer BAE Systems said it was reviewing its warship business but refused to comment on a newspaper report that it was set to close the historic Portsmouth dockyard.
A Chilean plan for modernizing and upgrading its defense forces is under way with one of the first major contracts going to BAE Systems for the supply and refurbishment of 12 U.S.-made M109A5 howitzers. The 15.8 million dollars contract has been implemented for the Chilean Government through a US foreign military sales contract.
BAE Systems, Britain's biggest defense company, has won a £59m contract for the maintenance of HMS Clyde, the Royal Navy's continuously-deployed patrol vessel in the Falkland Islands.