The US Navy embarked on construction of its latest frigate design before the design was finalised, a decision that is creating ongoing problems.
Design of the US Navy’s FFG 62 Constellation-class multi-mission frigate – a programme it embarked on because of failures in its Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) programme – has slowed and construction has ‘stalled’ according to a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report published in May 2024.
The US Navy recently reported a delay of at least three years in the delivery of the lead ship, from 2026 to 2029. According to the GAO, this is in large part because the design was not completed before construction began and because the Navy has ‘poor metrics’ for reporting design progress.
“The biggest thing in our report is that the US Navy has proceeded with construction of the first ship without completing the design,” said Shelby Oakley, Director Contracting & National Security Acquisitions at the GAO, “so they are building the ship without actually having it designed.”
When the US Navy planned the acquisition of the guided missile frigates, it hoped to deliver the ships faster than other classes that recently entered service. To reduce the risk of design and technology problems, it chose to use some technology that had already been proven on other ships. The design itself is based on that of a European frigate.
“However,” said the GAO, “the Navy undercut this approach by starting construction on the first frigate before finishing its design. Due to this and ongoing design challenges, construction on the first ship is at a standstill.”
Remarkably, despite the problems with the programme, in May 2024 the Department of Defense recently announced that Fincantieri’s US subsidiary, Fincantieri Marinette Marine, had been awarded a contract worth more than US$1 billion to build the fifth and sixth Constellation-class frigates. The contract for the lead frigate – and nine options – was signed in 2020 and has a cumulative value of US$5.5 billion, including post-delivery availability support and crew training. Construction began on the first ship, FFG 62, in August 2022.
Having selected the European design, the US Navy and its shipbuilder modified it to incorporate US Navy specifications and weapon systems. “However, the decision to begin construction before the design was complete is inconsistent with leading ship design practices and jeopardized this approach,” the GAO said. “Furthermore, design instability has caused weight growth.”
Another issue highlighted by the GAO is that the programme office tracks and reports design progress, but its design stability metric hinges largely on the quantity – rather than quality – of completed design documents. This limits insight into whether the programme schedule is achievable. “If the Navy begins construction on the second frigate without improving this metric, it risks repeating the same errors that resulted in construction disruptions and delays with the lead frigate,” the GAO stated.
Also potentially problematic is that although the programme is using many mission systems already proven on US Navy ships, but the Navy has yet to demonstrate two systems – the propulsion and machinery control systems.
