Constellation class approaching design maturity, while initial vessel delay reaches three-year mark

The US Navy’s (USN’s) significantly delayed Constellation-class frigate could be ready to begin continuous production by May 2025, according to the USN’s assistant secretary for research, development and acquisition, Nickolas Guertin.

Earlier in 2024, the Navy acknowledged that the frigate was suffering from significant production delays. Originally scheduled to start delivery by 2026, Fincantieri Marinette Marine said it was unlikely to deliver the first ship in the class, the USS Constellation (FFG-62) for another three years.

But Guertin revealed in December that the design phase was almost mature, and that such maturity would allow the potential use of a second shipyard to build hulls at speed while the original Constellation was being constructed.

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Some of the delays in getting the Constellation on the water were down to design issues, Guertin said. 

The ship was to be based on the existing FREMM design used by the French and Italian navies, but it required significant amendment to meet USN standards for survivability. 

That in turn threw out the weight ratios of the vessel, resulting in long delays in getting the design matured enough for mass production.

As reported by USNI News, Fincantieri Marinette Marine CEO Mark Vandroff told a Naval Institute defence forum event in Washington that both the Navy and the shipyard had underestimated the task of altering the FREMM design for USN standards.

“With the frigate what you have is the contractor responsible for the functional design but the government has to approve every artifact,” Vandroff said.

Meanwhile, the quest for an additional shipyard for the Constellation-class frigates has begun. On 15 November 2024, the USN issued a request for information as to which shipyards had the capacity to build the frigates. 

Six manufacturers are believed to have responded to the request, though it is expected to be 2027 before any second yard is ready to work on the project.

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