HMS Glasgow (F88): The Newest Ship to Carry a Name With Nine Centuries of History

The First of a New Class

HMS Glasgow is the lead ship of the Royal Navy's new Type 26 City-class frigates, a multi-mission warship built around anti-submarine warfare, air defence and general-purpose operations, designed to gradually replace the venerable Type 23 frigate fleet that has served the Royal Navy since the 1990s. Steel was first cut for her construction in July 2017, with work beginning on her second hull section in January 2018, her fore section moved out of the building shed on 18 April 2021, and the two major sections finally joined together on 1 May 2021, a genuinely lengthy and methodical construction process reflecting just how complex a modern anti-submarine frigate has become.

HMS Glasgow was launched on 25 November 2022 using a distinctive float-off method rather than a conventional slipway launch: she was rolled onto the semi-submersible barge CD01, towed down the River Clyde to the Firth of Clyde, and then on to Loch Long's Glen Mallan jetty, where she was floated free within the following week, before returning to the BAE Scotstoun shipyard for fitting out.

A Suspected Act of Sabotage

HMS Glasgow's fitting-out was disrupted by a genuinely troubling incident in May 2023, when around 60 of the ship's cables were found to have been deliberately cut, work suspended while the matter was investigated, with the damage possibly linked to an ongoing pay dispute at the yard. It was a stark reminder that even in peacetime, industrial disputes and workplace grievances can occasionally spill over into acts that threaten the integrity of a genuinely vital piece of national defence infrastructure.

Christened With Clydeside Whisky

HMS Glasgow was formally christened on 22 May 2025 by Catherine, Princess of Wales, using whisky from the Clydeside Distillery rather than the traditional bottle of champagne, a fitting nod to the ship's Glasgow origins and the river on which she had been built.

Approaching Sea Trials

By February 2026, newly released imagery showed HMS Glasgow with her hull and superstructure largely complete as outfitting continued to advance at the Clyde shipyard, her tall integrated mast, expansive flight deck and enclosed mission bay all clearly visible for the first time. Her onboard power systems were brought online in late 2025, enabling the beginning of integrated systems testing, a crucial step before a ship of this complexity can safely put to sea. Sea trials are slated for later in 2026, with formal entry into Royal Navy service anticipated in 2027, making HMS Glasgow the vanguard of a planned fleet of eight Type 26 frigates, designed around low-acoustic-signature sonar and hybrid propulsion for genuinely world-leading anti-submarine capability, backed by Sea Ceptor air defence missiles and a 127mm main gun.

A Name Nine Centuries in the Making

HMS Glasgow carries a name with a genuinely long Royal Navy pedigree behind her, following in the wake of previous ships that fought at the Battle of the River Plate and survived an unexploded Argentine bomb during the Falklands War. As she moves steadily towards sea trials and eventual service, this newest HMS Glasgow represents both the latest chapter in that long naval tradition and the leading edge of the Royal Navy's next generation of frigates, built to keep watch over waters that have grown no less contested in the decades since her illustrious predecessors last put to sea.