Britain Buys Three Norwegian Motherships for Royal Navy Mine-Hunting Drones
The ships will launch the Royal Navy's uncrewed mine-hunting systems and keep sailors further from danger, but the first one does not arrive until 2031.
The ships will launch the Royal Navy's uncrewed mine-hunting systems and keep sailors further from danger, but the first one does not arrive until 2031.
Britain will buy three Norwegian vessels to carry the Royal Navy's uncrewed mine-hunting systems, with the first due in 2031 and an option for three more, the UK Ministry of Defence announced Nov. 12. Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and Norwegian Defence Minister Tore O. Sandvik confirmed the commitment at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo, which met aboard the carrier HMS Prince of Wales.
The ships, called Offshore Support Vessels in Britain, bring the Royal Navy into Norway's P1118 Standardised Vessel Programme. The ministry set aside an additional £90 million for them in the Defence Investment Plan. Delivery runs through the government-to-government Maritime Capability Partnership Framework. The deal is part of the Type 26 export agreement with Norway, which ordered the frigates for £10 billion in December 2025.
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Marcus Schuler
Marcus Schuler edits BattlePolicy, a daily defense-technology brief connecting the companies and capabilities behind modern war to the contest among Europe, the US, Russia, and China.