Naval Historywith Dr. Alex

Q&A · 1:01:03-1:03:07

Type 31's Danish ancestry and StanFlex adoption

A follow-up question distinguishes Type 31's Iver Huitfeldt ancestry from procuring the Danish modular equipment system.

Iver Huitfeldt Class FrigatesModular WarshipsNaval ProcurementStanflexType 31 Frigate
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Question

Had the UK bought into StanFlex when it selected the Iver Huitfeldt-derived design for Type 31?

Short answer

The reply distinguishes buying the parent ship design from adopting StanFlex and says Britain had not bought into the system, even though BAE makes some StanFlex modules.

Notes

Buying a ship design and procuring its modular equipment system are separate decisions. Type 31 uses an Iver Huitfeldt-derived design, but buying that design did not, in this account, amount to British adoption of StanFlex. BAE's production of some modules also does not establish that the Royal Navy bought the system. Suggested explanations involve earlier programme assumptions and cost-saving decisions, but the exchange does not establish which explanation was responsible.