‘Comedy of Errors’: The Navy’s USS Constellation Frigate Never Had a Chance

The USS Constellation Challenger: U.S. President Donald Trump likes to brag that American manufacturing prowess has surged due to his leadership. Going back to his first term, this theme has been important to his administration. But the jawboning and braggadocio didn’t work, at least for one naval warship.

The 6,700-ton missile frigate USS Constellation has been a comedy of errors. It is now years behind schedule and would likely be somewhat obsolete even if it hit the waters tomorrow. 

The USS Consteallation Problems

The Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, won a $5.5 billion contract to build vessels for the U.S. Navy in 2020. The goal was to procure the first Constellation-class frigate by 2026. The Constellation is at least three years behind schedule, and it may not be ready until 2029 or 2030.

The Rust Belt Needs a Boost

The idea was to allow an American shipyard to produce the advanced warship, but to produce it in a state that is not usually associated with shipbuilding. This was part of an effort to create defense-related jobs in rust-belt areas that need an economic boost. The construction would establish bragging rights and demonstrate the virtues of modern manufacturing efficiencies by quickly building a quality warship.

The USS Constellation Has a Straight-forward Mission Set

The Navy wanted a new ship that could blast the enemy with missiles, protect carriers as part of a strike group, and eliminate enemy submarines. The Constellation would have a cutting-edge Italian design and would be able to steam around the world as a testament to cooperative American-European manufacturing excellence. 

Difficulties with the Italian-American Shipbuilding Partnership

The Constellation started off with a questionable design approach. Instead of creating a new design, it used the blueprints from an already-in-service Italian ship. This should have shortened the research-and-development phase, but no such thing happened. The Italians were sure the Constellation could be built swiftly, and they were undeterred. They claimed that frigates like the Carlo Bergamini-class were being built in just four years’ time.

The Americans listened to the Italians and were originally enthused. Shipbuilders estimated the Constellation could be finished by 2026. But the bureaucracy and inertia of the acquisition process got in the way. Plus, warships were not usually built in Wisconsin, and this lack of experience showed. 

USS Constellation: Design Tweaks Became Major Endeavors 

The Navy did not help. The brass continued to make changes to the design, even after construction began. There were constant tweaks that set the delivery date back.

These changes were not small endeavors, though, and they quickly added to the delays as deviations from the original plans became more and more extensive.

“The hull was lengthened by nearly 24 feet. The bow was reshaped. The sonar dome was removed. The engine rooms were redesigned. Generators and switchboards, separated in the Italian model for survivability, were forced together in the U.S. version, triggering spatial reshuffles and weight increases. A new propeller was required for acoustic performance. Cooling systems needed enlarging, which in turn demanded bigger pumps – and more space. Ventilation had to be rerouted. Room layouts had to be redone,” according to the Daily Mail.

The Navy should have just designed its own ship, and it was in over its head with the Constellation. The Italian-American teaming arrangement had clearly sprung leaks. The total time worked on the ship will be nine years by the time it is complete.

One of the problems is a common downfall of American shipbuilding we at 19FortyFive discuss often: There are just not enough shipyards in the United States that have qualified employees. This is especially true in a state like Wisconsin that is not part of the “Gun Belt” where normal defense manufacturing takes place. There is Oshkosh Defense in Wisconsin, but this contractor builds wheeled vehicles for the most part. Shipbuilding is just a heavy lift for the state.

The designers were also at fault for making changes after features were already built. It is clear the Navy was never satisfied with the Italian design. That should be a cautionary tale for procurement managers. If it is a ship for the U.S. Navy, allow U.S. engineers and designers to use their expertise and creativity to fashion an American ship for American needs. It is estimated that the Navy only used 15 percent of the original Italian design. The idea to work with the Europeans looked good on paper and should have resulted in success, but too many problems cropped up.

The new Secretary of the Navy, John Phelan, is aware that the U.S. shipbuilding base has problems. “Every shipbuilding delay, every maintenance backlog and every inefficiency is an opening for our adversaries to challenge our [naval] dominance,” Phelan told the Senate Armed Services Committee last month.

Naval acquisition experts have learned valuable yet costly lessons in shipbuilding. Use American designers, build ships in geographical areas where there are more experienced workers, and stick with a design instead of changing things in the middle of the process.

We’ll eventually see the Constellation hit the waves, but the schedule slips could have been avoided, and like Phelan has stated in the past, American adversaries can challenge U.S. naval dominance when domestic shipbuilding struggles.

About the Author: Dr. Brent M. Eastwood

Brent M. Eastwood, PhD is the author of Don’t Turn Your Back On the World: a Conservative Foreign Policy and Humans, Machines, and Data: Future Trends in Warfare plus two other books. Brent was the founder and CEO of a tech firm that predicted world events using artificial intelligence. He served as a legislative fellow for U.S. Senator Tim Scott and advised the senator on defense and foreign policy issues. He has taught at American University, George Washington University, and George Mason University. Brent is a former U.S. Army Infantry officer. He can be followed on X @BMEastwood.