The UK set aside an additional £90 million for the acquisition in its Defence Investment Plan. The ships will deploy uncrewed systems to detect and dispose of sea mines, allowing sailors to operate farther from danger, and will also support anti-submarine warfare on NATO’s northern flank, the ministry said.
UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and his Norwegian counterpart, Tore O. Sandvik, confirmed Britain’s entry into Norway’s P1118 Standardised Vessel Programme at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo. The ships will be delivered through the two governments’ Maritime Capability Partnership Framework.
The purchase forms part of the wider agreement under which Norway committed £10 billion in December 2025 to buy British Type 26 frigates. The Ministry of Defence said the frigate deal, Britain’s largest warship export agreement by value, supports 4,000 UK supply chain jobs, including more than 2,000 at BAE Systems’ Glasgow shipyards.
“This deal strengthens our ability to protect freedom of navigation, which is critical to our security and our economy,” Streeting said. The ministry cited disruption to global energy trade following what it described as Iran’s mining of the Strait of Hormuz.
“The United Kingdom’s procurement of Norwegian Standardised Vessels will further strengthen our strategic partnership, rooted in the Lunna House agreement,” Sandvik said. “Operating similar platforms will enhance our navy-to-navy cooperation and further improve our ability to operate seamlessly together, protecting and safeguarding NATO’s northern flank.”
