Navy Aims to Build 15 Constellation-class Frigates In 5 Years

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

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

Deck mounted guns, drone operations, cruise missile defenses, anti-submarine technology and an integrated network of “meshed” sensors are all expected to operate as key components of the Navy’s new Constellation-class Frigate.

Constellation-class Frigate

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, well-armed ships are a large priority for the Navy, which has set an ambitious pace of beginning as many as 15 within the next five years. At the moment, the current build rate is slated at one or two new Frigates per year, yet members of Congress are asking for a potential acceleration to three or four new Frigates per year, a move which would require the addition of a second shipyard. 

US Senator Tammy Baldwin, D-WI, whose district is home to Frigate construction, raised concern that a single shipyard may simply be insufficient to meet the demand. She questioned Navy leaders about their resolve related to the possibility of expanding shipbuilding capacity to increase the pace of production and sustain a robust industrial base. During a Senate Appropriations Committee – Defense 2023 Budget hearing, Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said he was “in favor” of adding a second shipyard, referring to the importance of maintaining a highly-skilled and available shipbuilding industrial base with the requisite expertise.

“Proper investments in the Frigate industrial base will be important,” Del Toro told lawmakers. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday echoed the Secretary’s remarks, saying “if you don’t give industry what they need, the supply chain becomes fragile.”