HMS Belfast (Type 26 frigate)

NameBelfast

NamesakeBelfast

Ordered2 July 2017

BuilderBAE, Glasgow

History
United Kingdom
Name	Belfast
Namesake	Belfast
Ordered	2 July 2017
Builder	BAE, Glasgow
Laid down	29 June 2021
Sponsored by	The Hon. Charlotte Fitzclarence
Commissioned	Expected 2029[1]
Identification	F90
Status	Under construction
General characteristics
Class & type	Type 26 frigate
Displacement	6,900 t (6,800 long tons; 7,600 short tons), 8,000+ t full load[2][3]
Length	149.9 m (491 ft 10 in)
Beam	20.8 m (68 ft 3 in)
Propulsion	CODLOG configuration: 1 × Rolls-Royce MT30 gas turbine[4] 4 × MTU Type 20V 4000 M53B high-speed diesel generators 2 × electric motors
Speed	In excess of 26 knots (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range	In excess of 7,000 nmi (13,000 km) in electric-motor (EM) drive
Boats & landing craft carried	2
Complement	157
Sensors & processing systems	Radar 3D radar - Type 997 Artisan Kelvin Hughes Ltd SharpEye navigation radar[5] Terma SCANTER 6000 2D X-Band navigation radar[6] Sonar Sonar 2087 (towed array sonar) Ultra Electronics Type 2150 bow sonar Satcom SCOT-5 satcom
Electronic warfare & decoys	IRVIN-GQ DLF decoys
Armament	Missiles: 12-cell VLS for 48 Sea Ceptor anti-air missiles[7] 24-cell Mark 41 VLS for Tomahawk, VL-ASROC, CAMM or ESSM (quadpacked), and anti-ship missiles.[8][9][10] Guns: 1 × 5-inch 62-calibre Mk 45 naval gun[11] 2 × 30 mm DS30M Mk2 guns 2 × Phalanx CIWS Browning .50 caliber heavy machine guns (TBC)[12] 4 × general purpose machine guns
Aircraft carried	Accommodation for two helicopters: Wildcat, armed with; 4 × anti-ship missiles, or 2 × anti-submarine torpedoes 20 × Martlet multirole air-surface missiles Mk 11 depth charges AgustaWestland Merlin, armed with; 4 × anti-submarine torpedoes
Aviation facilities	Large Chinook-capable flight deck Enclosed hangar Facilities for UAVs
Notes	Flexible Mission Bay Rolls-Royce Mission Bay Handling System

HMS Belfast is a Type 26 frigate of the Royal Navy and the second vessel named after the Northern Ireland capital Belfast.^[13][14] In September 2017, her name was announced by the First Sea Lord. HM ships' names are recommended by the Ships' Names and Badges Committee before approval by the Navy Board and then the Minister of Defence.^[15] The preserved former Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast (C35) was renamed HMS Belfast (1938) by the Imperial War Museum to avoid confusion.^[16] She was ordered on 2 July 2017. The first steel was cut on HMS Belfast 29 June 2021 by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.^[17]