- The UK is planning to acquire at least three, potentially up to six, new mine-hunting motherships from Norway
- The first of the vessels is not due to be delivered to the Royal Navy until 2031 at the earliest
- A government-to-government agreement could mean Norway will not have to provide equal offset valuation
The UK Government has announced its intention to acquire a series of new offshore support vessels (OSVs) for use as mine-hunting motherships from Norway, although its structure means that there is likely to be little in the way of offset benefits for UK industry.
Speaking onboard the Royal Navy aircraft carrier HMS Prince of Wales during the Atlantic Future Forum in Oslo on 12 November, UK Defence Secretary Wes Streeting said that three OSVs, also described as Standardised Vessels, will be acquired, along with options for three more.
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“They will support the Royal Navy’s mine hunting efforts through autonomous and uncrewed systems – adding another new capability to our Hybrid Navy,” Streeting said.
Once in service, the OSVs will act as motherships for uncrewed mine-hunting systems, with an additional £90m ($119m) in funding for such an acquisition announced in the Defence Investment Plan.
In a 12 November release, the UK Government described the planned OSV motherships as a “key step” in building the so-called Hybrid Navy, a concept that will see the Royal Navy scrap plans to operate the intended Type 83 air defence destroyers in favour of a network of uncrewed platforms under the Type 9X family.
Operationally, the OSVs will be tasked with monitoring and securing Nato’s northern waters, through which Russian submarines commonly penetrate.
The first of the three new OSVs will be delivered in 2031, through the UK joining Norway’s P1118 standardised fleet plan, outlined earlier in 2026.
This timeline is noteworthy, given the five-year gap between announcement and current delivery schedule. The UK House of Lords recently criticised the UK Government for failing to ensure that it would be in a position to be ‘war-ready’ within the next 1,000 days.
Will new UK Offset Policy apply?
Just last month, the UK Government introduced the UK Offset Policy, a formal defence procurement framework requiring overseas suppliers winning major contracts to deliver economic and industrial benefits worth up to 100% of the contract value back to the UK.
However, under the Offset Policy, acquisitions conducted via government-to-government agreements or multinational programmes with predetermined workshare are normally exempt from separate offset negotiations.
Published on 30 October 2026 as part of the Defence Industrial Strategy, the policy comes into effect in April 2027.
The OSVs will be delivered through the government-to-government Maritime Capability Partnership Framework between the UK and Norway.
