Why the U.S. Navy Wants New Frigates
Story by Kris Osborn • Yesterday 6:43 PM
The Navy’s ambitious effort to accelerate the production and delivery of its emerging Constellation-class Frigates seems to align with clearly defined objectives in support of the service’s continued shift toward great power, blue-water maritime warfare.
The Navy plans to acquire as many as 15 new Frigates within five years.
New Frigates: Warships with New Roles
These new warships will be tasked with many missions, including a requirement to find and destroy small swarming boat attacks, support carrier strike groups, conduct dis-aggregated operations, attack enemies with an over-the-horizon missile, and engage in advanced surface and anti-submarine warfare.
The new ships come in at 496 feet long and will displace 7,300 tons. By design, the frigate’s size and weight specifications are intended to fit between littoral combat ships and DDG 51 destroyers. While the frigates are not being built with the kinds of armaments used on destroyers, they will still be armed with heavy weapons, Aegis radar, and missile-launching vertical launch systems. A Navy essay on the ship says the new Constellation-class ships will include cutting-edge Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar, an emerging threat detection system able to perform air defenses and surveillance in support of maritime combat missions. The ships are also well armed, as they are being built with Mk 41 Vertical Launch Systems, Mk 110 57mm Gun Weapon Systems, and a suite of electronic warfare (EW) technologies, service information says.
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