U.S. Navy Budget Request Leaves Out Next Constellation-Class Frigate

 

Each year's proposed Navy budget gets a lot of attention for what's in and what's out, but this year has some big surprises. The next order for a Constellation-class frigate is zeroed out - no frigates are in the budget request. But the Pentagon has asked Congress to set aside $1.7 billion for on-water autonomous systems, along with $730 million for underwater autonomous capabilities. 

A senior Navy official told DefenseScoop that the unmanned line items include "new efforts in unmanned undersea and in unmanned surface, to include procuring our medium unmanned surface vessel [MUSV]." 

GAO reports that the Navy is consolidating its two ship-like unmanned surface vessel programs, the MUSV and the larger LUSV. The plan, GAO reported earlier this month, is to start development of a single hull design under a major capability acquisition pathway by FY2027.  

The news for the manned fleet is mixed. Fleet size would remain the same under the budget, but the much-delayed Constellation-class frigate program appears to be facing an executive-level decision, according to USNI: Pentagon officials told the outlet that "the Trump administration has not yet decided whether it will move forward" with the frigate. 

The Constellation-class faces a long list of challenges. Originally intended as a quick and low-risk adaptation of an existing French-Italian design, the program office opted to alter about 85 percent of the vessel, lengthening it and changing its internal arrangements so that it has little in common with the original. It is running three years behind schedule, the design is not yet complete, and it is on track to deliver about 13 percent overweight, according to GAO; if not corrected, this would reduce margin for future system installations, and could affect performance. The shipbuilder's costs also appear to have gone up, though the Navy has not released the amount of the yard's requests for payment adjustment. 

This budget is a one-year request without a 30-year plan, and does not forecast future-year carrier acquisitions - like a much-discussed block buy for the fifth and sixth Ford-class hulls. But it does include $600 million for advanced procurement for the fifth hull, a signal that the Pentagon is committed to the program. Also on the plus side for the carrier (and submarine) industrial base, the proposed budget includes no less than $2.5 billion for "nuclear shipyard productivity enhancements."