Existing Scottish yards and facilities helped make the British Type 26 build comparatively cost-effective. In the episode's 2022 setting, Royal Navy warships were required to be built inside United Kingdom territory, making possible Scottish independence a procurement risk. Later ships might then require production facilities elsewhere, while investment in other British yards could serve as insurance. The navy would still need the frigates, so the uncertainty concerned where and at what cost they would be built rather than whether the requirement disappeared.
Notable Point · 2:28:37-2:32:16
Scottish independence as a Type 26 yard risk
In the episode's 2022 context, domestic-build rules made possible Scottish independence a yard-location and cost risk without removing Britain's need for Type 26.