BAE Systems on September 15, 2015 confirmed its selection as preferred bidder by the U.K. Ministry of Defence (MOD) to provide the gun system, known as the Maritime Indirect Fires System (MIFS), for the Type 26 Global Combat Ship. This follows the MOD’s £859 million Demonstration Phase contract for the Type 26 program that was awarded to BAE Systems earlier this year.

Subject to contract award, BAE Systems will provide the MIFS Integrated Gunnery System (IGS), which includes the 5-inch/127-mm, 62-caliber Mark-45 Mod 4 Naval Gun System, along with an automated Ammunition Handling System, Gun Fire Control System, and qualified ammunition.

«The Mark-45 is at the center of our MIFS solution and will provide the Royal Navy with a low-risk, low-cost, and highly effective automatic weapon system», said Joe Senftle, vice president and general manager of Weapon Systems at BAE Systems. «It combines the benefits of a mature, reliable, and proven system with the capacity to deliver the full range of ammunition available today and in development».

BAE Systems has begun work in support of the overall Type 26 development design effort and, earlier this year, participated in Mark-45 technical briefings between the U.S. Navy and Royal Navy on board the USS Winston Churchill in Portsmouth, U.K. The event gave members of the Royal Navy the opportunity to further experience the gun system’s features and capabilities.

The world-leading Mark-45 is in service with the U.S. Navy and 10 other allied nations. More than 240 Mark-45 guns have been delivered into service globally, benefiting engineering and manufacturing capabilities around the world.

With business and service teams in the United States and the United Kingdom, BAE Systems brings unrivalled skills and experience to the Type 26 Global Combat Ship.

The Type 26 Global Combat Ship will replace the capability of the Royal Navy’s Type 23 frigates with a multi-mission warship capable of undertaking a wide range of roles from high intensity warfare to humanitarian assistance, either operating independently or as part of a task group. Designed with an acoustically quiet hull, the ship is being designed to be supportable and upgradeable as new technology develops to ensure that it remains relevant to the future demands of the maritime environment.

 

BAE Systems has revealed the latest images of the Royal Navy’s Type 26 Global Combat Ship, which will replace the Type 23 frigate as the workhorse of the Fleet