Royal Navy: "Major milestone" for HMS Active as flight deck structure completed on Type 31 Portsmouth ship

The flight deck structure of HMS Active has been completed, with the final unit being lifted into place. This ship is the second of five Type 31 Inspiration-class frigates that are being built by Babcock International.

A social media statement from the company said: “We've successfully lifted the final unit into place at the aft end of HMS Active, the second ship of our Type 31 programme. This lift completes the flight deck and clears the way for the next major milestone of drop stern.”

The Type 31 ships, which are due to call Portsmouth their home when they enter the Royal Navy fleet, will be given a General Purpose role and be tasked with a range of operations. These include defence engagement, humanitarian support, intercepting criminals at sea and other tasks. They can carry roughly 100 personnel and have a top speed of more than 26 knots, equivalent to 50kmph.

The ships - HMS Venturer, Active, Formidable, Bulldog and Campelltown - are due to replace some of their Type 23 counterparts while having more advanced capabilities. Babcock was awarded an additional £65m deal by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to install upgrades on the ships which go beyond the original specifications.

A company spokeswoman said the project is progressing at pace. She added: “We’re continuing to make great progress on the programme to deliver five Type 31 general purpose frigates for the Royal Navy. Recently, we successfully lifted the final unit into place at the aft end of HMS Active, the second ship in the programme.

“This lift completes the flight deck and clears the way for the next major milestone of drop stern. Dropping the stern removes the temporary supports used during construction from the rear of the ship. This is a key enabler for load out and float off.

“We expect HMS Active to float-off in the second half of FY26, which will follow HMS Venturer in the first half of FY26. In April, we were awarded Capability Insertion Period contract by the UK MoD for Type 31 frigates, an important step in adding further capabilities to the ship.”