The Royal Navy has revealed the name of the second of eight new Type 26 warship – the HMS Belfast.

The enormous warship will be used to protect the UK's nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and can travel at speeds of up to 26 knots (30mph).

Both the HMS Belfast and the HMS Glasgow – which was revealed in July – will enter service in the mid 2020s.

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The Royal Navy has revealed its second of eight new Type 26 warship – the HMS Belfast. The enormous warship will be used to protect the UK's nuclear submarines and aircraft carriers, and can travel at speeds of up to 26 knots (30mph)

HMS BELFAST HMS Belfast is a Type 26 Global Combat Ship - a 21st Century warship that will replace the Type 23 frigate as the workhorse of the Royal Navy's Fleet. The ship will undertake three core roles - warfighting, maritime security and international engagement - on the world stage. On board the HMS Belfast is the 'Sea Ceptor' – a cutting-edge missile capable of intercepting multiple targets out to a range of 15.5 miles (25 kilometres), travelling at speeds of more than 2,000 miles/hour (3,218 kilometres/hour). The warship is also fitted with a small-calibre SA80 gun, as well as a general purpose machine gun and Mk44 miniguns. Unlike the majority of the ship's weapons systems, these guns are not radar and computer controlled, but aimed and fired by the upper deck weapon crews. Advertisement

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon made the announcement as he visited Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where the Navy's last HMS Belfast was built prior to World War Two.

The ship will be one of eight new Type 26 frigates joining the Navy's fleet.

'I'm hugely proud that the second name announced of our eight cutting-edge new Type 26 frigates will be HMS Belfast,' said Sir Michael.

'She and her sister ships will form the backbone of our Navy well into the 2060s, keeping us safe by protecting the country's nuclear deterrent and new aircraft carriers.

HMS Belfast is a Type 26 Global Combat Ship - a 21st Century warship that will replace the Type 23 frigate as the workhorse of the Royal Navy's Fleet.

The ship will undertake three core roles - warfighting, maritime security and international engagement - on the world stage.

On board the HMS Belfast is the 'Sea Ceptor' – a cutting-edge missile capable of intercepting multiple targets out to a range of 15.5 miles (25 kilometres), travelling at speeds of more than 2,000 miles/hour (3,218 kilometres/hour).

HMS Belfast, which can carry a crew of 157, can travel at speeds of over 26 knots, and has a nautical range of 7,000 miles

The warship is also fitted with a small-calibre SA80 gun, as well as a general purpose machine gun and Mk44 miniguns.

Unlike the majority of the ship's weapons systems, these guns are not radar and computer controlled, but aimed and fired by the upper deck weapon crews.

The original HMS Belfast, which took part in the Arctic campaign and the Normandy landings, is now a floating museum permanently docked in London.

Defence Secretary Sir Michael Fallon made the announcement as he visited Harland and Wolff shipyard in Belfast, where the Navy's last HMS Belfast was built prior to World War Two

On board the HMS Belfast is the 'Sea Ceptor' – a cutting-edge missile capable of intercepting multiple targets out to a range of 15.5 miles (25 kilometres), travelling at speeds of more than 2,000 miles/hour (3,218 kilometres/hour)

The warship is also fitted with a small-calibre SA80 gun, as well as a general purpose machine gun and Mk44 miniguns

It will now be renamed 'HMS Belfast 1938' to avoid confusion.

Diane Lees, director general at Imperial War Museums, said: 'IWM is delighted that the name HMS Belfast will return again to the Royal Navy's front line as a major warship.

'We welcome the opportunity this will bring for our internationally significant museum to have a close affiliation with the new Belfast, enabling a powerful link between the Royal Navy's past and present.'