By Mikaȅl Perron, 2 May 2026
The cancellation of the Constellation-class frigate should be reconsidered by the US government. The proposed FF(x) frigate based on the Legend-class Security Cutter actually is a Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) weapon package with added reliability, range and good sea keeping attributes but that is far from being enough to make it a high-intensity fighting ship. The USN means to utilise mission packages on the stern section and to operate them with autonomous systems but all of those do not exist at the moment. We can all think of the different mission packages developed for the LCS that took forever to materialize or never did at all. What the USN is lacking, and what the Constellation-class should have been from the beginning, is an ASW/escort frigate and not a mini-Arleigh Burke ship.
The best anti-submarine warfare (ASW) assets of the USN are of course its SSN fleet but they do not possess enough of them. The shipyards are struggling to deliver them on time and the situation is aggravated by the AUKUS commitment that will see some Virginia-class boats transferred to Australia. While the Legend-class is not designed to be a quiet submarine hunter, the Constellation-class is based on the FREMM design which is optimized for such a task. The French FREMM won the USN ‘hook ‘em’ award four times between 2020 and 2026, demonstrating the quality of the design as a top-of-the-line ASW asset. There will be a need to choose where the SSN are employed so when the latter are not available, a frigate with core ASW built-in capabilities will be more than necessary.
Beside ASW capabilities, it has been demonstrated over the course of the last few years that escort vessels will be in great demand. We might just think of the missile attacks in the Red Sea or the blocking of the Strait of Hormuz to realize that escort vessels are essential to keep maritime traffic flowing. In time of conflict every sea line of communication (SLOC) is a potential area where large-scale attacks could be staged on the commercial fleets of this world. In case of conflict, we might need to organise convoys to keep the flow of goods. In case of conflict with a major adversary, there would be a need to escort the Military Sealift Command ships in order to keep the fighting fleet going and you don’t want to use a Burke-class for that.
The USN now needs a lot of new ships to be built quickly and the answer they found is the FF(X) program. Huntington shipyard will probably be able to start the building of these ships pretty quickly but another yard building another set of ships would bring up hull numbers more rapidly. The fleet would be much better off with a mix fleet of 30 or so FF(X) and 30 or so FFG-62 frigates. The Fincantieri Marine Group Shipyard was gearing up to deliver up to 20 FFG-62 ships to the USN but the ever-changing requirements, the design modifications and the excessive added capabilities torpedoed the project. In order to make these ship much more affordable and easier to build, a Flight II should be built from the third ship on.
This Flight II configuration would drop the SPY-6 radar and Aegis combat system. It would use a common Combat Management System with the FF(x) using the SPS-77 radar and common mast configuration. The 32 strike length MK41 VLS cells would be replaced by 32 tactical length cells being filled exclusively with quad pack ESSM and vertical launched ASROC (VLA) missiles. In theory would could fill the cells with up to 128 ESSM or up to 32 VLA but a load of 64-96 ESSM and 8-16 VLA would probably be a standard load. Two MK38 mod 4 gun could also be added on top of the hangar just aft of the NSM launchers in order to improve close-in and asymmetric threat defence. These few modifications have the potential to greatly reduce the price and the building times of the Constellation-class frigates, giving them their rightful place in the USN. A lot of investment went into training the work force, to equip the yard and acquire the necessary material to build the FFG-62 frigates. Lessons are being learned during the construction of the first two ships. To move to a simplified Flight II Constellation-class would probably prove to be a wise investment for the USN but the actual US administration will likely not consider such a move out of pride.
As for Canada, there is definitely a lesson to be learned here. In order for them to be successful, we should carefully plan the future Continental Defence Corvettes so they don’t become mini River-class destroyers. We should pick the right capabilities so that they are effective but the ships should remain relatively cheap, easy to build and affordable to operate.
Image: A graphic included in a 2024 Government Accountability Office report shows the Constellation class silhouette overlaid on the Italian FREMM that served as the starting point of the design. Credit: Government Accountability Office and US Navy
