BAE Systems Australia has welcomed the award to BAE Systems of a manufacturing contract for the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship program, declaring that the milestone should give the Royal Australian Navy confidence in its offer for SEA 5000.

The Ministry of Defence has awarded BAE Systems a contract worth about $6.3 billion to manufacture the first three Type 26 frigates, with steel to be cut on the first ship in Glasgow in the coming weeks.

“This news is very exciting for Australia as it is a turning point for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship program,” BAE Systems Australia chief executive Glynn Phillips said in a statement.

“With construction starting in the coming weeks, the most modern, most capable, most future-proof anti-submarine warfare platform in the world will soon become a reality.

“This milestone means the Royal Australian Navy should have full confidence that our offer for SEA 5000 – the Global Combat Ship-Australia – will have the largest growth margins of any ASW frigate in the world and will remain at the leading edge of naval technology throughout its service life.

“The potential for concurrent production in Glasgow and Osborne also means the Commonwealth stands to receive full knowledge-sharing from a live program through BAE Systems’ best-practice exchange, significantly de-risking SEA 5000.”

The request for tender for the Future Frigates was released to the three shortlisted designers in March.

The Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship. (Ministry of Defence)