BAE Systems is positioning to sell its Type 26 frigate to New Zealand, making it the third export customer for the advanced warship.

The defence business has agreed a £3.7bn contract to produce three of the advanced ships for the Royal Navy, and the British government has said it wants eight of the ships in total, with the first batch already under construction in Glasgow.

Last summer Australia signed up for eight of ships based on the design which will built by BAE in Adelaide. The deal is estimated to be worth £20bn to FTSE 100-listed BAE over its lifetime.

Earlier this year Canada confirmed it had licensed the Type 26 design which will be used as the basis for 15 new ships which will be built by Irving in Halifax.

The licence agreement is thought to be worth several hundred million and is set to rise as work progresses on how BAE will support Canadian prime contractor Irving with construction work.

These exports deals have been agreed for the Type 26 despite the design having not been completely finalised and the first vessel in the class still in the early stages of construction at BAE’s Govan shipyard.