- The U.S. Navy is canceling four planned Constellation-class frigates and will complete only the first two ships under its agreement with Fincantieri Marinette Marine.
- Navy officials say the decision is part of a shift toward ship classes that can be produced and delivered more quickly to meet future fleet requirements.
Sam LaGrone, editor of USNI News, wrote on Nov. 25 that the United States Navy is canceling most of the Constellation-class frigate program as the service moves toward new classes of small surface combatants that can be delivered more quickly.
According to LaGrone’s report, Navy Secretary John Phelan announced the decision Tuesday on social media, confirming that the program will be capped at two ships. Under the terms negotiated with shipbuilder Fincantieri Marinette Marine, the Wisconsin yard will complete Constellation (FFG-62) and Congress (FFG-63), while canceling the next four planned hulls.
“We are reshaping how the Navy builds its fleet. Today, I can announce the first public action is a strategic shift away from the Constellation-class frigate program,” Phelan said. “The Navy and our industry partners have reached a comprehensive framework that terminates, for the Navy’s convenience, the last four ships of the class, which have not begun construction.”
A senior defense official told reporters that the cancellation is tied to the Navy’s push to expand the fleet more rapidly.
“A key factor in this decision is the need to grow the fleet faster to meet tomorrow’s threats. This framework seeks to put the Navy on a path to more rapidly construct new classes of ships and deliver capabilities our war fighters need in greater numbers and faster,” the official said.
The shift comes amid wider Pentagon efforts to speed up acquisition timelines. “Speed to delivery is now our organizing principle,” Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Nov. 7 in his “Arsenal of Freedom” speech. “The sense of urgency has slipped too much, and when you look at what we face, we have to recapture it.”
Navy officials said the service remains in the middle of a fleet design review that will guide future small surface combatant development. The Navy currently has a requirement for 73 ships in that category.
To maintain operations across Fincantieri’s three shipyards on Lake Michigan, the Navy will continue building the first two Constellation-class ships. Constellation was approximately 12 percent complete as of Tuesday. The decision preserves the workforce of about 3,000 employees and keeps the yard positioned for future competitions.
“It gives us a bit more ability to be flexible and to work with the shipbuilder through this period of time as we make this transition into future work,” the senior official said. “Maintaining this shipyard and its skilled workforce is imperative to the Navy’s long-term industrial base.”
Marinette’s remaining work includes the final Freedom-class Littoral Combat Ship expected this year and four Multi-Mission Surface Combatants for the Royal Saudi Navy.
Fincantieri Marine Group CEO George Moutafis issued a statement following the Navy’s announcement. “Fincantieri has been a committed partner, and the Navy values this partnership, our investment and together we want to rapidly deliver capabilities to warfighters, so we believe that the Navy will honor the agreed framework and channel work in sectors such as amphibious, icebreaking, and special missions into our system of shipyards, while they determine how we can support with new types of small surface combatants, both manned and unmanned, that they want to rapidly field,” Moutafis said. “The key is to maximize the commitment and capabilities our system of shipyards represents.”
Navy officials said they will work with Congress to redirect unspent funds toward ships that can be produced and delivered sooner. Congress appropriated $7.6 billion for the initial six frigates, and about $2 billion has been spent. Officials did not specify how remaining funds may be reallocated.
The Constellation-class program began with a 2020 award to Marinette after the Navy decided to truncate both Littoral Combat Ship classes. The parent design was based on the Franco-Italian FREMM frigate, but U.S.-specific survivability requirements forced extensive structural changes. The redesign caused a three-year delay, moving delivery of the first ship from 2026 to 2029 and raising projected costs.
“Sometimes, you’re just better off designing a new ship,” former Navy acquisition chief Nickolas Guertin said in February. “Turns out modifying someone else’s design is a lot harder than it seems.”