The US Navy has decided to cancel the Constellation class frigate program after long cost overruns and program delays. Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan described the move as a strategic retreat to restructure the fleet’s construction and fielding processes. However, the fate of the first two ships under construction in Wisconsin is still under evaluation.
Delays and cost increases stood out as the main reasons that pushed the program past a critical threshold and led to its cancellation. The project, built by Fincantieri at the shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, and which started with the US Navy’s target of 20 ships in total, was based on the FREMM frigate design. However, extensive interventions in the design process and numerous change orders changed the direction of the project. According to GAO’s March report, design completion, initially set at 88%, reached only 70% five years later, delaying the program by three years. The report emphasizes that with changes to the design, the Navy lost similarity to the main design and that the redesign process triggered an increase in weight; This even required lowering the speed requirement. Minister Phelan said, “The facts are clear. We have to deliver the ship our fighters need at a speed appropriate to the threat environment, without being sacrificed to bureaucracy,” and expressed the necessity of the cancellation decision.
The government announced the cancellation of the last four ships, which were contracted but not yet in the construction phase. With this step, the Navy and Fincantieri agreed on a widespread framework for contract termination. However, work on the first two ships continues and these ships are evaluated within the framework of the changing strategy. Maintaining employment for the Michigan and Wisconsin workforce and ensuring the shipyard remains ready for future Navy shipbuilding was cited as a primary goal. Fincantieri, on the other hand, plans to compensate for the lost business volume with new orders for amphibious, icebreaker and other special mission ships. Senator Roger Wicker evaluated this decision as “difficult but vital” and stated that it strengthened the accountability of Navy program management. Phelan emphasized that the basis for the decision was the need to rapidly expand the fleet in line with future threats and the pressure to introduce new ship classes faster and in greater numbers.
