Second-of-class Type 26 frigate HMS
Cardiff
being towed and manoeuvred under the Erskine Bridge on the River Clyde in September 2024.
(Crown Copyright/UK MoD)
The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has disclosed plans to procure new mine countermeasures (MCM) and undersea warfare mother ships with Norway as part of a major bilateral accord announced by the two governments.
Signed by UK Secretary of State for Defence John Healey and his Norwegian counterpart Tore Sandvik on 4 December, the Lunna House Agreement is designed to increase interoperability and interchangeability between UK and Norwegian maritime forces in the face of an increased Russian threat on NATO’s northern flank. The new arrangement, which is intended to protect sea areas and critical infrastructure in the North Atlantic, also includes co-operation on defence equipment and comes three months after Norway confirmed the UK as its strategic partner for new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) frigates.
Under the terms of the Lunna House Agreement – named after the Scottish headquarters of the Norwegian resistance during the Second World War – the UK Royal Navy (RN) and the Royal Norwegian Navy (RNoN) will operate an interchangeable fleet of at least 13 UK-built Type 26 frigates (eight for the RN and a minimum of five for the RNoN). “[These ships] will patrol the strategically vital gap between Greenland, Iceland, and the UK, monitoring Russian naval activity and defending critical infrastructure such as underwater cables and pipelines, which carry vital communications, electricity, and gas,” said the MoD in a statement.
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