After the UK’s acclaimed efforts in securing a £10bn deal to supply at least five Type 26 frigates to Norway, the Nordic nation must now decide what mission systems to integrate on board.
Few systems are as important for warships as the electronic warfare (EW) system that detects and defends the platform in the electromagnetic spectrum (EMS). Currently, the UK Royal Navy is integrating the Maritime Electronic Warfare System Integrated Capability (MEWSIC) on all current and future warships.
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In an interview with Naval Technology at DSEI 2025, Martin Fausset, the chief executive of Elbit Systems UK, one of three suppliers collaborating on the MEWISC suite, welcomed the new strategic partnership formed around the two nation’s shared interests in the North Atlantic Ocean. But Fausset also noted that Norway is at a crossroads.
“We hope that they will take the UK configuration… obviously there is less risk if [Norway] take what has already been successfully integrated [in the British fleet], and hopefully [MEWSIC] will be part of that,” he said.
What does MEWSIC do?
Ultimately, MEWSIC will replace the Royal Navy’s existing EW system and deliver improved sense and understanding together with an advanced command and control (C2) picture alongside a new range of Ancillia trainable decoys.
The suite is designed to keep pace with an evolving threat landscape, which includes advanced anti-ship missiles and other complex technologies.
By automating elements of sense and understand, operators are freed to manage ‘on the loop’ rather than struggling with data manipulation ‘in the loop’.
The first production model of MEWSIC has been set to work at an Elbit Systems UK facility.
Other longer-term plans under consideration, the UK government suggest, could provide persistent offboard radio frequency countermeasures for task group defence. Dstl has already started research into potential concepts, including maritime recoverable decoys deployable from uncrewed vehicles.
Talks with the Nordics
Just as Norway procured the anti-surbmarine warfare Type 26, neighbouring Denmark and Sweden are reportedly in advanced talks, according to the Financial Times, to procure Type 31 general purpose frigates. Ironically, the Type 31 design – or Arrowhead 140 – was originally derived from the Danish Iver Huitfeldt class, albeit a more advanced version.
Meanwhile, MEWSIC will be integrated on all frontline British ships – the Type 31 and 26, as well as aircraft carriers, Fausset reiterated. There is, therefore, potential for Elbit Systems UK to export to the wider Nordic region.
“Whilst each country will make their own decision, the likelihood is that many of them will choose to pick the UK configuration,” he asserted, even if some countries may wish to change the standard slightly. In fact, in its announcement at the end of August, the Norwegian government confirmed that both nations’ vessels will be as identical as possible, and have the same technical specifications.
In addition, some of the early Type 26 warship deliveries will be diverted from the Royal Navy programme, Fausset revealed. “I’m not sure exactly where – that’s the rumour – but the Norwegians would get early capability by taking a slot in the queue.”
Fausset added that Elbit is similarly in discussions with the Australian, Danish, and Swedish navies on the prospect of adopting its range of EW solutions, not necessarily MEWSIC specifically, but still, he emphasised, this would boost British exports. This added value to UK exports is a key part of the British government’s agenda, laid out in the Defence Industrial Strategy published a few days ago.
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