✨Type 26 (lớp khinh hạm)
Global Combat Ship (GCS), còn được biết với tên gọi Type 26 Global Combat Ship, hoặc đơn giản hơn là Type 26 , GCS, là một kiểu tàu chiến được thiết kế theo đặt hàng của Bộ Quốc phòng Anh. Nó được dự định để thay thế cho lớp tàu chiến kiểu Type 23 frigate đang hoạt động trong Hải quân Hoàng gia Anh.
Chương trình khởi động từ năm 1998, ban đầu với tên gọi "Future Surface Combatant (FSC)". Năm 2010, thiết kế của BAE Systems Surface Ships trúng thầu với tên gọi Type 26 Global Combat Ship. Dự kiến, việc đóng tàu sẽ khởi động vào năm 2015
In early 2006 the MoD started a Sustained Surface Combatant Capability (S2C2) programme which explored synergies between the FSC and other needs, for minesweepers, patrol ships and survey ships. By early 2007 this had crystallised into the three requirements; C1, C2 and C3. C1, (formerly Versatile Surface Combatant) was to be an Anti Submarine Warfare task group enabled platform and would displace around 6,000 tonnes. C2, (formerly Medium Sized Vessel Derivative) was to be a more general purpose platform displacing somewhere in the region of 4-5,000 tonnes, and C3 was to be a Global Corvette to replace a larger number of smaller vessel in service, such as minesweepers, patrol and survey ships. The Global Corvette was to displace around 2-3,000 tonnes.
The C3 found its roots in early 2004 when the MoD issued a Request for Information (RFI) for a smaller class of ship known as the Global Corvette. Low running costs and the ability to operate forward in shallow, coastal areas where larger ships cannot, were both important. BAE Systems, VT Group, Thales và Rolls-Royce responded in autumn 2004 with concepts ranging from a well equipped Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV) of 1,500 tonnes to an advanced and very capable "corvette" of 3,000 tonnes, along the lines of the USN's Littoral Combat Ship programme (LCS). The FSC concept was brought forward in the 2008 budget, at the expense of options for two Type 45 destroyers not being taken up (ships 7 and 8). In 2009 BAE Systems received a contract to design the C1 and C2 frigates with a planned 25 year life. A total of 18 vessels (10 C1 and 8 C2) were planned to enter service from 2020, at a pace of roughly one per year. In early 2010 the C3 variant was dropped for the Mine Countermeasures, Hydrography and Patrol Capability programme (MHPC).
Contract awarded
On ngày 24 tháng 2 năm 2010, First Sea Lord Sir Mark Stanhope referred to the Future Surface Combatant as the "Type 26 frigate" during a speech at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS). This designation was repeated during a House of Commons debate on defence on ngày 15 tháng 3 năm 2010.
On ngày 25 tháng 3 năm 2010, BAE Systems were given a four-year, £127 million contract by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD), to fully design the Type 26 Global Combat Ship (formerly C1 of the FSC). At the time the first of the Type 26 Global Combat Ships was expected to be delivered to the Royal Navy by 2020. The October 2010 Strategic Defence and Security Review (SDSR) reaffirmed the government's commitment to the Type 26 GCS - "As soon as possible after 2020 the Type 23 will be replaced by Type 26 frigates, designed to be easily adapted to change roles and capabilities depending on the strategic circumstances". Under the SDSR the two classes of the former Future Surface Combatant, previously known as the C1 and the C2 variants, were merged into the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. The Type 26 combines advantages of both variants into a versatile ship, designed to readily change roles and capabilities depending on the strategic circumstances. As part of the review it was also announced that the remaining Type 22 frigates would be decommissioned without replacement within 6 months of the review. This leaves the Royal Navy's escort fleet at 19 destroyers and frigates (6 Type 45 destroyers and 13 Type 23 frigates). Contract signing was delayed until after the Scottish independence referendum of 2014 but BAE are "anxious" to commit the MoD before the 2015 General Election. the MoD hope to have the first ship delivered in 2022.
Possible partnerships
As of ngày 31 tháng 1 năm 2011 Malaysia, Australia, New Zealand, and Turkey had all expressed interest in collaborating on the Global Combat Ship, and the UK was in "close discussion" with Canada. A Canadian union campaigned that the Global Combat Ship threatened Canadian shipbuilders and in the run-up to the May 2011 election a spokesman for the Canadian Defence Minister ruled out involvement with the British programme. Turkey also later rejected the design as not meeting its requirements.
In January 2010, Jane's Defence Weekly reported that the governments of the United Kingdom and Australia were exploring the potential for cooperation on the C1 and C3 designs, which corresponds closely to the Royal Australian Navy's requirements in replacing its MEKO-200 with a new frigate type ([http://www.defence.gov.au/dmo/id/dcp/html_dec10/sea/Sea5000.html Project SEA 5000]). An initial decision for the frigate replacement is not expected until at least 2018. When the two countries signed a defence cooperation treaty in January 2013 the Australians agreed to collaborate on their frigate requirement and investigate involvement in the Type 26 project.
The British and Brazilian governments agreed on a defence partnership that may lead to the sale of five or six Type 26 frigates to the Brazilian Navy. In October 2010, BAE made a detailed proposal to the Brazilian navy, for a package including Type 26 frigates as well as variants of the and .
In August 2011 it was reported that the UK Government, together with BAE Systems, was considering entering into partnership with the Indian MoD and private defence shipyards in Ấn Độ to jointly design and build the Type 26/Global Combat Ship.
T26 GCS được thiết kế dưới dạng modul với 3 dạng chính: phòng không (anti air warfare - AAW), săn ngầm (anti submarine warfare - ASW) và đa năng (general purpose - GP). Mỗi dạng đều có cấu hình riêng phù hợp cho công tác.
Theo thiết kế, phiên bản tiêu chuẩn của T26 GCS có thời gian hải trình tối đa đến 60 ngày. Ngoài số thủy thủ đoàn, tàu có thể mang thêm 40 lính thủy quân lục chiến với đầy đủ trang bị và 20 phi công và kỹ sư hàng không. Tàu có sàn đáp cho máy bay trực thăng săn ngầm và khoang chứa cho tàu cao tốc phục vụ cho công tác truy kích trên biển.