Key Points and Summary – The Navy’s decision to cancel most of the Constellation-class frigate program is more than a one-off embarrassment—it is an indictment of America’s surface shipbuilding system. -A supposedly “low-risk” FREMM-based design was weighed down by U.S.-only requirements, ballooning weight, cost, and complexity while slashing commonality with the parent hull. -Workforce shortages […]

In a scene reminiscent of the film “Groundhog Day,” the U.S. Navy has canceled the Constellation-class frigate program, with only the first two ships, which are already under construction, scheduled for completion.

The program was terminated due to production delays, escalating costs, and design challenges stemming from adapting a foreign design to meet U.S. requirements. The funds from the canceled frigates will be reallocated to other ships that can be produced more quickly.

The Constellation-class frigate program was intended to be a “low-risk” approach, basically a slam-dunk to building a new frigate, but it underwent significant changes to its Italian FREMM-based design, making it heavier, more expensive, and less aligned with its original blueprints.

  • jj4211@lemmy.world
    5·
    1 day ago

    They’ll start down that path, spend billions on starting up the program, then a new president comes in and cancels that to return to the smaller ship philosophy and spends billions to start down that path again.