The Navy wants the first of the FF(X) frigates to be built by 2028—a full year before the first of the Constellation class, which the FF(X) supplanted.

The US Navy is moving forward with the FF(X) frigate.

On Tuesday, the Navy awarded Ingalls Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), a $282.9 million contract for the lead shipyard work for the new frigate.

Could the First FF(X) Frigates Really Be Ready by 2028?

The Navy is looking to have a capability by 2028, with a two-year design and production schedule. The process is made somewhat easier by the fact that the FF(X) is based on the Coast Guard’s existing Legend-class National Security Cutter, meaning new design costs are likely to be minimal.

Even so, the timeline for the FF(X) frigate’s construction has been ambitious from the start. In November, the service canceled the Constellation-class frigate after years of development, citing cost overruns and delays; two warships in the class remain under construction. Shortly thereafter, it announced the FF(X) program would move full steam ahead to make up for the shortfall in Constellation-class vessels.

If HII and the Navy hit their goal, the first FF(X) will enter the water before the USS Constellation, the lead ship of the canceled Constellation-class, will join the fleet in 2029.  

Behind this rapid procurement and production timeline is a specific strategy. The US Navy first plans to buy the necessary material to build and equip the maiden warship of the class before it fully tailors the operational capabilities of the whole class. In principle, that modular approach should allow for a faster timeline—and bypass concerns about the capabilities of the class 20 or 30 ships down the line.

“The Lead Yard Support contract will complete design work for production, procure long lead material including pre-production efforts to enable rapid transition to construction,” the Navy wrote in a media statement.

The FF(X) Frigate’s Projected Specifications

Based on the current schedule, the FF(X) ships will have the following specifications:  

• Year Introduced: 2028 (expected)  
• Number Built: TBD (between 50 to 64) 
• Length: 421 feet (128 m)
• Beam (Width): 54 feet (16.5 m)
• Displacement: 4,750 tonnes
• Engines: Unknown; likely combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion
• Top Speed: 28 knots (32.2 mph, 51.8 km/h)
• Range: 12,000 nautical miles (13,800 miles, 22,224 km) 
• Armaments: Up to 16 Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) or 48 cell AGM-114 Hellfire counter-unmanned aerial system missiles, 1×21 cell Mk 49 RAM air defense launcher, 1x57mm gun, 1x30mm gun 
• Crew: 148 

The planned arsenal of the FF(X) indicates that it will be capable of anti-surface, anti-submarine, and air defense missions.

How Many FF(X) Frigates Does the Navy Need?

In total, the Navy is expected to build at least 50 of the FF(X) vessels. However, this procurement will likely take place over the span of decades—much like the Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, which first entered service in 1991 but are still regularly being built.

According to the Navy’s recent budget request, five FF(X) vessels will be purchased in Fiscal Year 2027, another in 2029, and two in 2031.

“Sole-source Construction contracts will then follow for the first two ships. The third and following Frigates will be procured with a competitive strategy that will increase [the] fielding rate to the fleet through production at multiple shipyards and expanded [sic] the shipbuilding industrial base,” the Navy wrote of its FF(X) production approach.  

Once completed, the FF(X) frigate will be the Navy’s first frigate since the Oliver Hazard Perry-class, the last ship of which was decommissioned in 2015.

Frigates are the second lightest surface combatants after corvettes, and are attractive due to their ability to project power across long distances at a reasonable cost.

China’s military rise and its swelling naval fleet are pushing the Navy to increase its numbers. The Navy currently has nearly 300 warships and support vessels, of which about one-third are deployed at any given time. Conversely, Beijing can likely put to sea as many as 700 warships and support vessels in the event of a conflict.  

About the Author: Stavros Atlamazoglou   

Stavros Atlamazoglou is a seasoned defense journalist specializing in special operations and a Hellenic Army veteran (national service with the 575th Marine Battalion and Army HQ). He holds a BA from the Johns Hopkins University and an MA from the Johns Hopkins’ School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). His work has been featured in Business Insider, Sandboxx, and SOFREP.

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