Royal Navy commits to three new mine-hunting motherships

The Ministry of Defence formally announced today that the Royal Navy has committed to acquiring three new mine-hunting Offshore Support Vessel (OSV) motherships. The deal has previously been reported and is part of the agreement for Norway to purchase the UK’s Type 26 frigates for £10 billion.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting and his Norwegian counterpart, Tore O. Sandvik, confirmed Britain’s and Norway’s commitment to the plan announced in 2025. The commitment was made at the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo yesterday (12 November).

Another £90 million has been added to the Defence Investment Plan to facilitate the purchase of the vessels. The Royal Navy has the option to purchase another three vessels.

Building the Royal Navy’s ‘Hybrid Navy’

The MoD notes that the acquisition of three new OSVs (called ‘standardised vessels’ in Norway) as mine-hunting motherships for uncrewed systems is a “key step” in building the hybrid navy that the Royal Navy is envisioning.

It adds that these new vessels will “boost UK security by making the detection and disposal of sea mines safer, quicker and more effective.” The three motherships, with their autonomous craft, are to be “central” to the RN’s modernisation of its mine-hunting capability.

They will also support anti-submarine warfare capabilities in the High North.

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting MP said, “This agreement also shows how the UK-Norway partnership helps both our countries, and our allies, meet the challenges of a more dangerous world.”

Timeline to receive new Offshore Support Vessels

According to the plan, the UK joins Norway’s P1118 Standardised Vessel Programme and the Royal Navy will receive the first of the three Offshore Support Vessels in 2031.

The mine hunters currently in Royal Navy service are remaining Hunt-class (five vessels) and Sandown-class (only HMS Bangor remaining). HMS Stirling Castle, meanwhile, serves as a dedicated mothership for autonomous mine-hunting systems. The last Hunt-class ship is due to retire in 2031.

The first OSV is being timed to arrive as the last Hunt-class vessel exits service in 2031. The delivery timetable for the remaining two OSVs is unclear.

Norway’s Sandvik stated, “Operating similar platforms will enhance our navy-to-navy cooperation and further improve our ability to operate seamlessly together.”

Separately, the Navy Outlook reported Norway’s foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, as saying he wants the British and Norwegian frigates to be “literally interchangeable.” This is in contrast with Australia and Canada, which are purchasing substantially modified variants of the frigates.

The OSV programme should not be confused with the separate UK and Dutch plan to jointly procure a new class of amphibious transport ship called the Amphibious Transport Ship (ATS). Each is to purchase four of the ships.