Jobs boost for Scottish shipbuilding as five more Type 26 frigates to be built on the Clyde

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Scottish shipbuilding was handed a massive boost today as the UK Government confirmed it will order a further five Type 26 frigates to be built on the Clyde.The £4.2 billion deal with defence giant BAE Systems will support 1,700 jobs across its shipyards at Govan and Scotstoun for the next decade, as well as another 2,300 jobs in the supply chain across the UK.Three Type 26 frigates are already under construction in Scotland with the first - HMS Glasgow - due to be floated by the end of the year.It means a total of eight of the advanced naval warships will be built on the Clyde between now and the mid-2030s.Confirmation of the new order was announced by BAE Systems in a trading update to the markets this morning.

Ben Wallace, the Defence Secretary, said: "We are investing in our fleet to ensure our Royal Navy maintains its world-leading capability to protect and defend our nation at sea. "This design has already been successfully exported to Australia and Canada, its already proved itself as a world-class maritime capability, securing thousands of UK jobs and strengthening alliances with our allies."Supporting thousands of high-skilled jobs in Scotland, and more across the wider UK supply chain, this contract will continue to boost our British shipbuilding industry, galvanising the very best of British engineering, manufacturing and design."The Type 26 frigates are just under 150m long when finished – around the length of three Olympic swimming pools – and have a top speed of more than 26 knots and a range of more than 7,000 nautical miles.The Royal Navy ships will be capable of countering piracy and delivering humanitarian aid and disaster relief.A flexible mission bay means the vessels could also be adapted to carry