Overview
- The keel was laid on 9 December 2025 at Babcock’s Rosyth yard for HMS Formidable, the third of five Inspiration-class frigates.
- The ceremony marked the first joining of roughly 170 modules for a ship whose physical construction began with first steel cut in October 2024.
- Babcock announced an expanded partnership with HII to produce complex assemblies for the US Navy’s Virginia-class submarines from the same site.
- Programme leaders said milestones remain on schedule toward delivering five ships within 10 years of contract signature, with HMS Venturer afloat, HMS Active due to leave the assembly hall in 2026, and work beginning on HMS Bulldog.
- The advance comes as the Royal Navy manages reduced frigate numbers following the recent retirement of the Type 23 HMS Lancaster.