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United Kingdom In development Babcock International Group
Type 31 Inspiration
General-purpose Royal Navy frigate based on the Danish Iver Huitfeldt design, built by Babcock at Rosyth to deliver a lower-cost complement to the Type 26 fleet. Five ships are on order to replace the general-purpose role previously filled by Type 23 frigates.
In service since 2027 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
5,700
t
28
kn
9,000
nmi
32
VLS
106
crew
💲 ≈ $320,000,000 — Approximate per-ship program cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
UK export-licensed
Subject to UK SPIRE licensing (ECJU); generally available to allied states.
Channel: Government-to-government or direct
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 2027. Status: announced.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$800M – $1.1B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost — operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price.
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Main armament
Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.
- 1× 57 mm Bofors naval gun
- VLS cells
Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship — a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming.
- 32 Stronger than 50% of warships
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 138.7 m
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- Terma Scanter 4100 surveillance radar
- Sensors
IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.
- combat management system, electro-optical fire control
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
- Unit cost
Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper.
- $320,000,000 Top 7% of warships
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 0 Bottom 4% of warships
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 45% of warships
Specifications compiled from public Babcock International Group and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) 
Fincantieri Bergamini class (FREMM) Frequently asked questions
What is the main armament of the Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration? +
The Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration's primary weapon is the 1× 57 mm Bofors naval gun.
What is the Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration used for? +
The Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration is a warship typically used for air defense, isr.
How many countries operate the Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration? +
The Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration cost? +
The Babcock International Group Type 31 Inspiration has an approximate unit cost of 320,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration — treat this as directional.
