WASHINGTON — Navy Secretary John Phelan today announced the service would pursue a new frigate based on HII’s Legend-class national security cutter, which was originally built for the US Coast Guard.
Breaking Defense reported last week that Phelan had told attendees at a private dinner that the Navy was considering HII’s ship design to replace the now canceled Constellation-class frigate program. Further, Jason Potter, the Navy’s acting acquisition executive, said publicly that the service would aim to have this new ship in the water by 2028, a goal that Phelan reiterated today.
“I have 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 us interests at home and abroad,” Phelan said in a video posted on social media.
The new ship design will be part of the administration’s “Golden Fleet” concept, he added. While the administration has released few concrete details about its concept, the idea broadly seeks to shift the balance of the Navy’s fleet with larger numbers of small surface combatants and unmanned vessels, along with some number of more heavily armored, up-gunned “battleships.“
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“Recent operations from the Red Sea to the Caribbean make the [frigate] requirement undeniable,” Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Daryl Caudle said in the same video. “Our small surface combatant inventory is a third of what we need. We need more capable blue water small combatants to close the gap and keep our [destroyers] focused on the high-end fight.”
Phelan said HII would be the program’s lead yard, but the Navy will execute a competition to find other yards for construction.
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The CNO said, “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. We know this frigate design works. We know it operates with the fleet, and most importantly, we know how to build it now.”
In a statement published shortly after the Navy’s video, HII said the ships will be built at its Mississippi-based yard, Ingalls Shipbuilding.
“We look forward to supporting the Navy on this critical program,” said Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO. “Speed matters, and the NSC ship design is stable and produceable and will lead to predictable schedules. I have great confidence in the Ingalls team to execute this program, and in our ongoing efforts with our partners to successfully expand the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base to meet the Navy’s needs.”