Navy Building Third Constellation-class Frigate –  Goal is to Fast-Track 15 in 5 Years

Video Above: How the US Navy Can Fast-Track Building 500 Warships

By Kris Osborn – President & Editor-In-Chief, Warrior Maven

The Navy has now begun building its third Constellation-class Frigate as part of its ambitious plan to fast-track initial construction of as many as 15 of the new ships in the coming five years.

Constellation-class Frigate

The new ship, to be called the USS Chesapeake (FFG 64), is the third Frigate in the new class to advance through the production process.

These new warships will be tasked with many missions, including a requirement to find and destroy small swarming boat attacks, support carrier strike groups, conduct dis-aggregated operations, attack enemies with an over-the-horizon missile and engage in advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare.

The new ships come in at 496 feet long and will displace 7,300 tons. The frigate’s size and weight specifications are, by design, intended to fit between littoral combat ships and DDG 51 destroyers. While the frigates are not being built with the kinds of armaments used on destroyers, they will still be armed with heavy weapons, Aegis radar, and missile-launching vertical launch systems.

A Navy essay on the ship says the new Constellation-class ships will include cutting edge Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, an emerging threat detection system able to perform air defenses and surveillance in support of maritime combat missions. The ships are also well armed, as they are being built with Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems, Mk 110 57mm Gun Weapon Systems and a suite of EW technologies, service information says.