Constellation-class

The US Navy's FREMM-derived next-generation frigate — intended as a 20-hull class to close the force-structure gap, cut to 2 half-built hulls when the program was canceled in November 2025 amid runaway redesign and cost growth.

Overview

The Constellation-class guided-missile frigate (FFG-62) was the US Navy's program of record to recapitalize its frigate force, returning a dedicated, multimission small surface combatant to the fleet after the retirement of the Oliver Hazard Perry class. Derived from the Franco-Italian FREMM design, the program was awarded to Fincantieri Marinette Marine in 2020 with a plan for up to 20 ships. Chronic design changes that diverged the US hull roughly 85% from its European parent, combined with significant weight growth and multi-year schedule slips, led the Navy to cancel the entire program on 25 November 2025, capping it at the two vessels already under construction, according to USNI News and Defense News.

Development

The FFG(X) competition was conceived as a low-risk acquisition strategy centered on a mature parent design to avoid the developmental pitfalls of the Zumwalt-class destroyer and the Littoral Combat Ship. In April 2020, the Navy selected Fincantieri's proposal, which was based on the Italian FREMM Bergamini-class then in service with the Marina Militare. The lead ship, USS Constellation (FFG-62), began fabrication in 2022 at Marinette Marine in Wisconsin, with the planned delivery date initially set for 2026.

The "parent design" strategy rapidly unraveled. To meet US Navy survivability, damage-control, and mission-system requirements, the design underwent continuous modification. The Defense News report on the cancellation noted that the final US design shared only roughly 15% commonality with the original FREMM, effectively becoming a clean-sheet development. This led to severe weight growth, exceeding the design margin, and pushed the delivery of the lead ship to an estimated 2029. Facing a program that had tripled its development timeline and with a rapidly expanding Chinese navy altering the threat environment, Navy Secretary Phelan terminated the program in November 2025. Funds were redirected to a new FF(X) effort, leaving the two hulls on the blocks—Constellation and Congress (FFG-63)—to be completed as partial test articles, a fate described by the Fincantieri Marine Group.

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