As you know, the Navy has terminated the Constellation
frigate program with only the first two ships possibly being completed and even
that now appears to be unlikely, according to the most recent GAO annual
weapons assessment report.[1]
With the continuation of the two remaining ships under review and the shipbuilder having been directed to stop ordering materials, the conclusion seems inescapable: the two ships will be terminated.
Why does this kind of debacle continue to happen to the
Navy? The Navy knowingly continues to
commit programmatic suicide by failing to follow best practices.
The Navy paid for a ship that didn’t even have a design. Who could have anticipated anything would go wrong with that?
What went wrong?
This tells me the Navy is incompetent on an almost unimaginable scale and failed to do their homework before committing. How has no one been fired over this?
As weight growth became an issue, the Navy’s response was
hilariously stupid.
What could possibly go wrong by removing redundant systems (a vital element of combat survivability), removing primer from steel (of course the paint will stick without primer … won’t it??), and reducing firefighting capacity (every damage control effort in history has depended on firefighting – did the Navy learn nothing from the 202 fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard?)?
Eliminate primer and reduce firefighting? Come on.
I couldn’t even sell that as an April Fools joke.
There’s stupid and then there’s Navy stupid which is just a
whole ‘nother level of stupid. How has
no one been fired for even considering these changes?
I can only conclude that one of the requirements of for
attaining flag rank is to undergo a lobotomy and a pretty extensive one, at
that. Either that or they’re all Chinese
agents. Nothing else can explain the
non-stop parade of stupid ideas and decisions spewing forth from Navy
leadership.
According to senior Navy officials, these two ships are under review for potential termination. ... These officials further stated that in March 2026, the Navy directed its shipbuilder to pause ordering material for FFG 62 and FFG 63 to evaluate its necessity as those ships remain under review.[1]
With the continuation of the two remaining ships under review and the shipbuilder having been directed to stop ordering materials, the conclusion seems inescapable: the two ships will be terminated.
As we previously reported, the Navy had obligated over $3.4 billion to construct six ships before completing the frigate’s basic and functional design—an approach counter to shipbuilding leading practices.[1]
The Navy paid for a ship that didn’t even have a design. Who could have anticipated anything would go wrong with that?
The extent of design changes exceeded the original expectation of conducting limited design changes on the parent design.[1]
This tells me the Navy is incompetent on an almost unimaginable scale and failed to do their homework before committing. How has no one been fired over this?
Concurrently, the Navy and shipbuilder have evaluated weight savings opportunities, including removing redundant systems, removing primer from steel plating, and reducing firefighting system capacity, among other things.[1]
What could possibly go wrong by removing redundant systems (a vital element of combat survivability), removing primer from steel (of course the paint will stick without primer … won’t it??), and reducing firefighting capacity (every damage control effort in history has depended on firefighting – did the Navy learn nothing from the 202 fire aboard USS Bonhomme Richard?)?
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[1]Government Accountability Office, "Weapon Systems Annual Assessment", Jul 2026, p.144
Wow... removing primer and firefighting gear?? That's almost unimaginably ridiculous. There really should be criminal abuse/fraud/negligence investigations at this point. Since the Navy can fund and order ships that don't even have blueprints... perhaps you can charge people with "hazzarding a vessel" that doesn't exist...
ReplyDelete"charge people with "hazzarding a vessel" that doesn't exist..."
DeleteI like it! At the very least, I would think the all-encompassing "dereliction of duty" would apply. It's your duty to design an effective ship and I would think knowingly designing an ineffective ship would warrant charges.
At least they admitted the mistake and scrapped them early, unlike the billions of dollars wasted to fix the failed Zumwalt.
ReplyDeleteTrue! And that's an ever so slight improvement, I guess.
DeleteThere are several takeaways from this. For example, the Navy's failure to do their homework in comparing the FREMM design to the Navy's standards. And so on.
DeleteHowever, the biggest takeaway is that if the Navy had completed the ship's design BEFORE beginning construction they would have seen that the cost was going to explode due to the required changes. By failing to complete the design prior to construction they wasted untold amounts of time and money. This is why you NEVER begin construction of anything (ship, plane, baby stroller, waffle maker, weather balloon, etc.) without a complete design. How people have not been fired over this is baffling and speaks to the incompetence and utter lack of accountability and integrity in Navy leadership.
Keep an eye on the bigger disaster. Remember the 2nd Ford carrier was supposed to be delivered in June, but was suddenly kicked out two years. Now I read:
ReplyDelete"Nimitz had previously been scheduled to retire once it arrived in Norfolk. However, the Navy has extended its active-duty until at least March 2027 to match the commissioning date of the new USS John F. Kennedy, the second of the new Gerald R. Ford class of aircraft carriers.
https://www.stripes.com/branches/navy/2026-07-07/nimitz-homeport-norfolk-this-week-22204085.html
This suggests Admirals are not confident in the new delivery date so will keep the 51-year old Nimitz in service just in case.
Believe me, I'm watching it! The stated reasons for delay are ongoing problems with the AAG and weapon elevators - same as with Ford. This is what happens when you begin construction with non-existent technology and then compound the problem by failing to wait for the lead ship to complete and debug before starting the rest of the production run.
DeleteDimension SIGMA 125 frigate is ideal choice. Have hull built halves overseas bring them US add extension for VLS . Dutch navy built it's frigates at Lithuanian and Estonian shipyards outfitting was done domestically
ReplyDeletehttps://www.damen.com/vessels/defence-and-security/sigma-frigates/sigma-multi-mission-frigate-12516
Meanwhile the guys who designed ships on paper and drafting tables down nearest inch are laughing AutoCAD boys struggle to calculate.
ReplyDelete"The Navy paid for a ship that didn’t even have a design."
ReplyDeleteHow is this legal, by the way?