The U.S. Navy has confirmed its decision to acquire a new FF(X) frigate with a design based on the U.S. Coast Guard’s Legend class National Security Cutter, though there are immediate questions about its expected configuration. The new warships, the first of which is set to be launched in 2028, are intended to fill the gap left by the cancellation of the abortive Constellation class frigate program. As TWZ just recently explored in detail, axing Constellation, itself intended to help make up for the chronically underperforming Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) program, had highlighted a concerning hole in the service’s future force structure plans.
The Navy had previously announced its intention to acquire a new class of frigates, but had only said they would be based on an unspecified American design. Breaking Defense had reported last week that the Legend class National Security Cutter, developed by Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), was the design in question, citing anonymous sources.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced the decision to cancel the Constellation class program at the end of November. The Navy had awarded the first contract for what had been expected to be a fleet of at least 10 of those frigates, based on the existing Franco-Italian FREMM design, in 2020. With the idea that only relatively minor changes would be necessary in the Americanized version, and that this would help keep the program on track, the original goal was to see the future USS Constellation delivered in 2026. However, extensive Navy-directed design changes resulted in an almost completely different vessel with only 15 percent commonality with its European ‘parent,’ and the delivery schedule had slipped to 2029 at the earliest.
Now, “to deliver at speed and scale, I have directed the acquisition of a new frigate class based on HII’s Legend class National Security Cutter design, a proven American-built ship that has been protecting U.S. interests at home and abroad,” Secretary Phelan said in a video announcement today. “The President [Donald Trump] and SECWAR [Secretary of War Pete Hegseth] have signed off on this as part of the Golden fleet. Our goal is clear: launch the first hull in the water in 2028.”
“We look forward to supporting the Navy on this critical program,” Chris Kastner, President and CEO of HII, also said in a statement in a company press release. “Speed matters, and the NSC ship design is stable and producible and will lead to predictable schedules. I have great confidence in the Ingalls team to execute this program, and in our ongoing efforts with our partners to successfully expand the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base to meet the Navy’s needs.”
In terms of the future frigates themselves, “the FF(X) is a highly adaptable vessel. While its primary mission will be surface warfare, its ability to carry modular payloads and command unmanned systems enables it to execute a broad spectrum of operations, making it ready for the challenges of the modern maritime environment,” according to a Navy release. “Small surface combatants have always been essential to the fleet, handling a wide range of missions where a large warship isn’t required. The FF(X) will continue this vital role, and will take on more routine operations, enhancing the fleet’s operational flexibility, adaptability, and mission readiness.”
The Navy has not yet released more specific details about FF(X)’s expected capabilities, but has shown renders of the design. USNI News has also published an additional Navy rendering of the design, seen at the top of this story. What is seen is notably distinct in various ways from Patrol Frigate concepts derived from the National Security Cutter that HII has previously proposed to the Navy, including in the FFG(X) competition that led to the Constellation class. In particular, a very prominent ‘shelf’ has been added to the bottom of the front end of the main superstructure.
Where a Vertical Launch System (VLS) array might be found is an immediate question. This is something that one would expect to be a key feature on any future Navy frigate. Past HII Patrol Frigate concepts have included VLS arrays of varying sizes between the main superstructure and the turreted gun on the bow, as can be seen in the video below.
Patrol Frigate Variants – Information Video
However, the FF(X) design, as it has been shown so far, does not have a VLS clearly installed in its bow, and the new shelf cuts into the space used in previous Patrol Frigate concepts for this purpose. With this in mind, it is possible that a VLS array will be, or at least could be, installed directly in the expanded forward superstructure. This design change would presumably make it easier to fit a larger VLS array into the existing Legend class hull configuration, as below deck alterations to accommodate it would be reduced, especially if longer strike-length cells are not planned.
The shelf could also serve as a pedestal for other weapon systems, such as a laser directed energy weapon or some other form of point defense system, but this seems far less likely given the other features of the design.
The VLS requirement was a particularly hot topic of discussion around the FFG(X) effort that led to the Constellation class. After work began on those ships, there continued to be questions about whether their 32-cell VLSs were sufficient for meeting their expected mission requirements, as you can read more about in this past TWZ feature.
The FF(X) renderings do clearly show angled deck launchers for missiles at the stern end of the ship, but what they are intended to be filled with is unknown. What is depicted does align with launchers for 16 Naval Strike Missiles (NSM), an anti-ship cruise missile with secondary land-attack capability that the Navy has already been integrating onto some of LCSs, and has been exploring as an option for arming other ships. The U.S. Marine Corps is also fielding a ground-based NSM system.
The ship’s only other clearly visible weapon systems are a Mk 49 launcher for RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile (RAM), for close-in defense, and what appears to be the same 57mm gun in a turret on the bow that is found on the Coast Guard’s Legend class configuration. Whether this has anything to do with the FF(X) nomenclature for the new frigate effort, which notably lacks the “G” reflecting naval vessel designs explicitly intended to carry guided missiles, is unknown.
The FF(X)’s main mast configuration, as depicted in the rendering, also looks largely unchanged from the existing Legend class design. It does appear to feature a Saab AN/SPS-77 Sea Giraffe medium-range multi-mode surveillance radar that is not found on the Coast Guard’s cutters. A much larger AN/SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), coupled with a derivative of the Aegis combat system, had been set to be a key feature on the Constellation class frigates. More significantly expanded sensor suites were also a feature in past HII Patrol Frigate concepts.
The explicit mention of modular payloads in the Navy’s release raises additional questions. One of the most significant areas where the LCS program has failed to deliver has been in the promise of its modular mission modules. These were supposed to allow the ships to rapidly shift from one mission set to another. As it stands now, the Navy’s Independence and Freedom class LCSs are deployed with largely fixed configurations. It is also worth noting that modular payloads for the FF(X) could refer to containerized systems, such as the Mk 70 Payload Delivery System, which contained a four-cell missile launcher derived from the Mk 41 VLS. There is space on the fantail of the FF(X) design, behind the box launchers, that could be used for a containerized payload.
The Navy has otherwise made clear that it expects the new frigate design to allow for the integration of new and improved capabilities and functionality down the line.
“The frigate will follow the same proven approach we’ve used with the Arleigh Burke destroyers, building it smart from the start, then upgrading it in steps over time, as the threat and technology evolve,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle also said in today’s video announcement.
Arleigh Burke class destroyers, also sometimes referred to as DDG-51 class ships, are the primary workhorse of the Navy’s current surface fleets, something that looks unlikely to change for decades to come. The service has now begun fielding the Flight III subvariant, which features significantly improved capabilities. There are a number of major upgrade programs underway for existing versions, as well. At the same time, it is worth noting that Navy officials have been warning for years that the underlying design is ‘maxed out’ from a structural perspective, as well as when it comes to meeting the needs of increasingly power-hungry mission systems.
Any major physical modifications to the initial FF(X) design, such as the installation of a larger VLS or a new mast for a larger and/or more capable radar array, could be complex and costly. The Navy has its own history with large-scale upgrade programs becoming expensive boondoggles, with previous work on its Ticonderoga class cruisers having become a particular case study in what not to do.
The Navy has shared details about its acquisition strategy for the new frigates, which it clearly hopes will help avoid some of the issues that befell the Constellation program. The service also plans to eventually competitively award contracts for additional hulls to multiple shipyards. This is in line with broader trends across the Navy and the rest of the U.S. military to be better about obtaining and retaining key intellectual property rights for major weapon system programs to prevent being locked into a particular vendor.
“We will acquire these ships using a lead yard and competitive follow-on strategy for multi-yard construction,” according to Secretary Phelan in today’s video. “Shipyards will be measured against one outcome, delivering combat power to the fleet as fast as possible.”
“Leveraging a complete design and production baseline approach will allow the Navy and shipbuilders to reduce costs, schedule, and technical risk,” Adm. Caudle added. “We know this frigate design works. We know it operates with the fleet, and most importantly, we know how to build it now.”
The new frigate program is also being presented as a way to help bolster domestic U.S. shipbuilding capacity. America’s shipbuilding industry has contracted to a very worrying degree over the past few decades, especially in contrast to China’s heavy investment in the opposite direction, as you can read more about here.
“We will deliver on a wartime footing, and we will unleash the American industrial base to do it, competition, accountability, and real output, steel in the water,” per Secretary Phelan.
Comments from Navy officials today also seem clearly intended to head off questions about why the service is not considering any of the wide array of capable frigate designs that allies and partners have in active production now. This is something TWZ explicitly touched on in our recent piece on the Navy’s future frigate outlook.
“We’ve also been clear-eyed about what happens in conflict. Other countries will always prioritize their own fleets, not us, ships that depend on foreign industry,” Adm. Caudle said in the video released today. “That’s why this is an American design backed by American workers, American suppliers, and an established logistics and maintenance network. So wherever the ship sails, when the American flag goes into port, it does so with American industry firmly behind it.”
National Security Cutter – Ingalls Shipbuilding
What is not in question is the Navy’s need for more capable small surface combatants, and more of them overall, especially given the underperformance of the LCS program. In particular, the new frigates will offer a way to free up Arleigh Burke destroyers for more pressing taskings, as well as reduce operational strain on the destroyers overall.
“Recent operations from the Red Sea to the Caribbean make the requirement undeniable,” Adm. Caudle stressed in the video today. “Our small surface combatant inventory is a third of what we need. We need more capable blue water, small combatants to close the gap and keep our DDGs focused on the high-end fight.”
With what happened to the Constellation class program, one can expect the new FF(X) effort to be subjected to a particular significant degree of scrutiny, including from Congress. With the official plan now declared to be to leverage the Legend class National Security Cutter design already in Coast Guard service, more specific details may begin to emerge.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com