Norway has ordered British-made Type 26 frigates in a contract valued at roughly £10 billion to the UK economy, but this may delay the introduction of the Royal Navy's own desperately needed ships.

The agreement announced yesterday will see at least five of the submarine-hunting warships built at BAE Systems' Glasgow shipyards for the Norwegian Navy, or Sjøforsvaret, in addition to the eight that are already planned for the Royal Navy.

Britain's government is naturally trumpeting this as a major success, claiming it will support at least 2,000 jobs in Scotland until the late 2030s with a further 2,000 roles elsewhere in the UK, although it is likely these are jobs that existed anyway thanks to the Type 26 program.

Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Støre said: "Norway and the United Kingdom

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