The first steel for the first three of eight Royal Navy ships was cut on 20 July 2017. BAE Systems announced the award of the Type 26's first seven equipment manufacturing contracts in July 2015, these worth in excess of £170 million. Contracts were awarded to Babcock International for the ship's air weapons handling system; David Brown Gear Systems Ltd for the propulsion gearbox and the test facility; GE Power Conversion for the electric propulsion motor and drive system and testing facility; Raytheon Anschütz for the integrated navigation and bridge system including customer-specific design and development, a land-based integration facility, and a wide range of services; Rolls Royce Power Engineering for the gas turbine; Rohde & Schwarz UK Ltd for the communications systems; WR Davis of Canada for the uptakes and downtakes of the ship's funnel and exhaust system.