UK’s fourth Type 26 frigate to be named Birmingham

One of the British Royal Navy’s (RN) eight Type 26 global combat ships will be called HMS Birmingham, becoming the fourth RN ship to bear that name.

Once commissioned, the 6,900-tonne frigate will conduct anti-submarine warfare missions and serve as an escort ship for the Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers.

Birmingham is the fourth of the UK’s eventual eight Type 26 frigates to be named, with HMS Glasgow, HMS Belfast, and HMS Cardiff the first three to be built.

These first four Type 26 ships are being built by BAE Systems Maritime’s Naval Ships division.