Navy Turns to Coast Guard Cutter Design for New Frigate Class

Updated: December 20, 2025 (Originally published December 19, 2025)

The U.S. Navy announced Friday a strategic shift in its surface combatant procurement, unveiling plans for a new frigate class based on Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Legend-Class National Security Cutter design following the cancellation of four Constellation-class vessels.

Secretary of the Navy John C. Phelan confirmed the service will acquire the FF(X) frigate using what he described as an accelerated approach designed to deliver combat power faster than traditional shipbuilding programs.

“To deliver at speed and scale, I’ve directed the acquisition of a new frigate class based on HII’s Legend-Class National Security Cutter design: a proven, American-built ship that has been protecting U.S. interests at home and abroad,” Phelan said in the announcement. “President Trump and the Secretary of War have signed off on this as part of the Golden Fleet. Our goal is clear: launch the first hull in the water in 2028.”

The decision comes as the Navy grapples with mounting delays in the Constellation-class program. On November 25, the service announced it would terminate four ships from the troubled program before construction begins, while allowing the first two vessels to proceed at Fincantieri Marinette Marine’s Wisconsin shipyard.

The lead Constellation-class ship, originally scheduled for delivery in April 2026, is now expected three years later in April 2029—a delay that has raised concerns about fleet modernization timelines.

Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle emphasized the advantages of leveraging an existing design rather than developing a new platform from scratch.

“Like the Medium Landing Ship, leveraging a complete design and production baseline approach will allow the Navy and shipbuilders to reduce costs, schedule and technical risk,” Caudle said. “We know this Frigate design works, we know it operates with the Fleet, and most importantly, we know how to build it now.”

The FF(X) will serve as a smaller, more agile surface combatant designed to complement larger multi-mission warships. While its primary mission will focus on surface warfare, the vessel’s modular payload capacity and ability to command unmanned systems will enable it to execute a broad spectrum of operations.

The Navy plans to use a lead yard and competitive follow-on strategy for multi-yard construction to expand production capacity across the maritime industrial base. Shipyards will be evaluated on a single metric: delivering combat power to the fleet as quickly as possible.

HII said its Ingalls Shipbuilding yard will serve as the Navy’s prime designer and builder for the program. The ships will be built on Ingalls’ existing production lines alongside destroyers and amphibious vessels, using the same construction sequence employed for the Coast Guard’s NSC program. “Speed matters, and the NSC ship design is stable and producible and will lead to predictable schedules,” said HII President and CEO Chris Kastner, adding that the company is confident Ingalls can execute the program while continuing to expand the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base.

The Constellation program’s troubles mirror challenges identified by the Government Accountability Office across multiple naval shipbuilding efforts. A May 2024 GAO report noted the Navy’s decision to begin construction before completing ship design was “inconsistent with leading ship design practices” and warned that design delays had created “mounting construction delays.”

Following the Constellation cancellation, Fincantieri Marine Group stated it expects to receive new orders for other vessel classes, including amphibious, icebreaking, and special missions vessels. The company emphasized that the agreement with the Navy guarantees continuity and workload visibility for its workforce of approximately 3,750 skilled workers across four U.S. shipyards.

The FF(X) announcement represents the latest in a series of federal shipbuilding program alterations under the Trump administration, which has also cancelled the Coast Guard’s planned eleventh Legend-class National Security Cutter at Huntington Ingalls and partially shut down the troubled Offshore Patrol Cutter program at Eastern Shipbuilding. The most recent vessel in the Legend-class, USCGC Calhoun (WMSL-759), entered service in April 2024.

These decisions come as U.S. naval and Coast Guard leaders warn that the nation’s shipyards and industrial base lag significantly behind China’s maritime production capacity.