On 20 November the US Congressional Research Service released the 36 page Navy Constellation (FFG-62) Class Frigate Program: Background and Issues for Congress report. Its summary stated:
The Navy began procuring Constellation (FFG-62) class frigates (FFGs) in FY2020, and a total of six have been procured through FY2024. Navy plans call for procuring a total of at least 20 FFG-62s.
The Navy’s proposed FY2025 budget requests $1,170.4 million (i.e., about $1.2 billion) for the procurement of the seventh ship in the program. The Navy’s FY2025 budget submission programs the procurement of an additional six FFG-62s during the period FY2026- FY2029 in annual quantities of 2-1-2-1.
FFG-62s are being built by Fincantieri/Marinette Marine (F/MM) of Marinette, WI. F/MM was awarded a fixed-price incentive (firm target) contract for Detail Design and Construction (DD&C) for up to 10 ships in the program—the lead ship plus nine option ships. A May 2024 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on the FFG-62 program states:
- To reduce technical risk [in the FFG-62 program], the Navy and its shipbuilder [in designing the FFG-62] modified an existing [Italian-French frigate] design to incorporate [U.S.] Navy specifications and weapon systems. However, the Navy’s decision to begin construction [of the first FFG-62] before the design was complete is inconsistent with leading ship design practices and jeopardized this approach….
- Delays in completing the ship design have created mounting construction delays. The Navy acknowledges that the April 2026 delivery date, set in the contract at award, is unachievable. The lead frigate is forecasted to be delivered 36 months later than initially planned. The program 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 program’s 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 frigate is using a traditional, linear development approach for design and construction. The Navy has historically experienced schedule delays, cost growth, or both in prior shipbuilding programs using this approach. The Navy has incorporated elements of leading practices into its acquisition strategy. However, further incorporating these practices in an updated acquisition strategy could position the program, when contracting for future frigates, to better respond to evolving mission needs.
The FFG-62 program presents several potential oversight issues for Congress, including the following:
- the estimated 36-month delay in the scheduled delivery of the first FFG-62, which was reported publicly by the Navy in April 2024;
- the potential for cost growth in the FFG-62 program, particularly after the first 10 ships in the program;
- whether and when to introduce a second shipyard into the FFG-62 program;
- the number of vertical launch system (VLS) missile tubes in the FFG-62 design; and
- technical risk in the FFG-62 program.”
The US Navy has subsequently sought a Request for Information from industry about establishing a second shipyard.
The full report can be downloaded at: https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44972
