The next Constellation-class frigate is not expected to commission until 2029 due to shipbuilding delays.
It is not a secret that the U.S. Navy is seriously hampered by shipbuilding delays. Upcoming projects, including aircraft carriers, submarines, frigates, and destroyers, are facing construction issues, budgetary constraints, and delivery deficiencies that are hampering the service’s ability to maintain its future sea-based strategy. Following an executive order issued by President Donald Trump last month, some shipbuilders are trying to use this moment to position themselves as a greater potential partner in America’s naval shipbuilding industry. Italian manufacturer Fincantieri, which owns three shipyards located in Wisconsin on the Great Lakes, has expressed that Trump’s prerogative will boost its ability to field Constellation-class frigates in a timelier manner. According to CEO Pierroberto Folgiero, Trump’s order will “debottleneck the performance of the existing defense shipyards in the US, including ours in Marinette.”
Fincantieri was tasked with constructing the Constellation-class frigates back in 2020 during Trump’s first administration. Initially, the vessels were heavily derived from the Fremm frigates that the same shipyard had built for the Italian Navy previously. However, significant design changes have hindered the construction phase. According to a March report issued by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, “As a result of these changes, in part, the frigate now bears little resemblance to the parent design that the Navy touted as a built-in, risk reduction measure for the program in 2020. Now, in 2025, the ongoing redesign has driven weight growth at levels that exceed available tolerances. Already, the Navy is considering a reduction in the frigate’s speed requirement as one potential way, among others, to resolve this weight growth.”
What We Know About the Constellation-class Frigate
The Navy’s quest to field frigates that can better keep up with aircraft carriers and easily integrate emerging technologies led to the Constellation-class design. Back in 2018, six shipbuilders submitted proposals to secure the contract to build these new frigates. Fincantieri’s design was ultimately selected as the winner in 2020. In terms of armament power, this up-and-coming class of frigates will be equipped with an MK 41 Vertical Launch System and the MK 110 57mm Gun Weapon System. In addition to being able to carry and launch a variety of guided, cruise, anti-ship, and rolling airframes, the Constellation-class vessels will also sport cutting-edge sensors. Notably, the Aegis Weapon System Baseline 10 variant has been specially modified to serve the needs of these frigates.
While the Navy will benefit from these advanced vessels when they are introduced down the line, the next Constellation-class frigate, USS Lafayette (FFG-65), is not expected to commission until 2029 due to shipbuilding delays. While Trump’s executive order certainly represents a first step when it comes to ramping up America’s shipbuilding capacities, a more comprehensive maritime strategy is still required in order for real changes to be made and construction timelines to be shortened. The eventual introduction of all the Constellation frigates, in addition to the Navy’s other upcoming next-generation projects, will play important roles in the service’s sea-based power projection capabilities.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
Image: DVIDS.
