Tuesday, May 19th 2026 - 01:45 UTC
HMS Active was floated off at Rosyth in March 2026. (Pic Babcock)
Royal Navy’s Type 31 frigate program has been hit by a £140 million cost adjustment, after contractor Babcock International identified higher-than-expected rework and productivity issues during construction of the vessels, points out The Center for National Interest, a US Public Policy Think Tank.
The update comes as the program to deliver five next-generation general-purpose frigates for the Royal Navy continues across multiple UK shipyards, with early ships now entering advanced build and outfitting stages.
According to Babcock, the cost increase is primarily driven by work on the first ships in the program, where outfitting and commissioning stages have required more rework than originally planned.
