The first of the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigates will be named HMS Glasgow, it has been announced.

The first steel was cut on the Clyde-built warship at BAE Systems' shipyard in Govan by defence secretary Sir Michael Fallon.

A total of eight Type 26 warships known as the City class will be built, with orders for a similar vessel known as the Type 31 frigate also expected to be placed.

The frigate will be the ninth Royal Navy warship to bear the name HMS Glasgow, with the service's senior officer saying the construction of the new ship was "symbolic of a Royal Navy on the rise once again".

It is believed the Type 26 programme will secure jobs on the Clyde over the next two decades.

Around 4000 jobs across the UK supply chain will be supported and sustained by the programme, with the ships entering the fleet in the mid-2020s.

The order for the first three City frigates, which will be almost 500ft long and displace 6900 tonnes, is worth £3.7bn.

Plans to begin construction in 2016 were pushed back amid fears over securing value for money.

Fallon said: "Today marks a historic milestone for the Royal Navy, Scottish shipbuilding and UK Defence more widely.

"HMS Glasgow and the other seven frigates in this new class will protect our powerful new aircraft carriers and nuclear deterrent, helping keep Britain safe across the world.

"The Type 26 is a cutting-edge warship that will maintain our naval power with a truly global reach.

"Designed for a service life of at least 25 years, the Type 26 frigates will form a backbone of the future Royal Navy surface fleet well into the future."

Admiral Sir Philip Jones, the head of the Royal Navy, said: "The Clyde was the birthplace of some of the greatest fighting ships the world has ever known and so cutting steel there today for the future HMS Glasgow is symbolic of a Royal Navy on the rise once again.

"As an island nation, we are utterly dependent on the sea for our security and prosperity and the City-class names have been chosen for the Type 26 to provide an enduring link between the Royal Navy and our great centres of commerce and industry.

"The name Glasgow brings with it a string of battle honours, stretching from the Arctic Circle to the South Atlantic.

"As one of the world's most capable anti-submarine frigates, the Type 26 will carry the Royal Navy's tradition of victory far into the future."