A defence giant with two bases in Gloucestershire is reportedly on the verge of landing a £1.25 billion deal.

Babcock, which has a base at Tewkesbury and at Gloucestershire Airport, is part of the Arrowhead 140 consortium in the running to win the contract to build a new generation of Royal Navy frigates.

The deal to build the Type 31e frigates is said to be worth £1.25 billion.

The boats are believed to be destined to serve maritime missions close to UK shores which would free up the Navy's more advanced Type 26 craft to serve on overseas operations.

It is thought that if Whitehall approve Babcock's bid building work will be assigned to Scottish yards with other work being awarded to Plymouth where the firm also has operations.

An announcement is expected on the Type 31e at September's Defence & Security Equipment Show in London.

It is understood that Babcock, as well as Atlas Elektronik UK and BAE Systems were each awarded competitive design phase contracts at the end of 2018, worth £5 million apiece, to bring designs to the table for the craft.

The proposal is to build five of the general purpose frigates which would be intended to enter into service in the 2020s alongside the more capable Type 26.

Babcock has partnered with BMT Defence Services and Thales Group to come up with the Arrowhead 140 design, which is said to be based on the hull of Danish Iver Huitfeldt-class frigates.

Its armaments would include medium calibre gun options up to 5" (127mm) as well as small calibre guns up to 40mm calibre. It would also be possible to arm it with up to eight canister-launched SSGW (Surface-to-Surface Guided Weapons), VL missiles and what are called close-in weapon systems.

Its flight deck would be designed to take a range of naval aircraft, including the likes of a medium-sized naval helicopter or lighter helicopter.

Babcock declined to comment.