The US Navy Littoral Combat Ship Gabrielle Giffords is armed with the service’s new Naval Strike Missile. He says that while the US Navy tried to replace the Perry-class with Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) corvettes, the LCS proved not as effective as hoped with multiple problems with weapons systems, survivability and hull integrity, leading to the type’s early retirement. Hendrix says that frigates and corvettes, with their smaller size, smaller crews, lower sensors and weapons complexity, and lower costs make them feasible to purchase in large numbers to perform low-intensity missions. Jerry Hendrix notes in an April 2020 article for National Review that the US practice of deploying ships such as Arleigh Burke destroyers for tasks like counter-piracy operations, showing the flag and maintaining persistent naval presence may detract these critical naval assets from more important roles such as providing missile defense and other high-end missions. That decision has seen the US Navy deploy overly-capable ships for low-intensity missions. That left the US Navy without frigates for the first time since 1943.Ĭhina testing waters in S China Sea vs Philippines and US However, he says that led to the frigates ending in worn condition, leading to their removal from service in 2003, with the last Perry-class frigate decommissioned in 2015. Suciu notes that the 71-ship Perry class had a 40-year service life performing low-intensity missions such as maritime interdiction operations, counter-narcotic efforts and engagement with partner navies. Peter Suciu notes in an August 2021 article for The National Interest that the Perry-class frigate was a low-cost design built between 19 intended to replace the US Navy’s World War II destroyers and meet large Cold War fleet numbers that set stringent design controls on size and costs. Since decommissioning the successful Oliver Hazard Perry-class, the US Navy has not operated frigates, opening a capability gap in specific mission areas. The Popular Mechanics report mentions that the desire to add a second shipyard for production could yield 40 more ships in the next ten years, with around 50 ships seen as the ideal number for the US Navy. The comment underscores the perceived need to ramp up production of upcoming Constellation-class frigates, with the US Navy initially committing to acquire 20 ships. US chief of Naval Operations Admiral Mike Gilday, during a recent hearing of the Senate Armed Forces Committee, said that he wants to boost US naval shipbuilding from two ships at one shipyard per year to production at two shipyards, Popular Mechanics reported. On May 20, 2021, a contract option was awarded for the second frigate, USS Congress (FFG 63).The US plans to catch up with China’s navy by building its first frigates since the early 2000s, a strategic scheme that may make up for dwindling fleet numbers but not lost time. The program is transitioning from functional to detail design with Critical Design and Production Readiness Reviews planned prior to the start of lead ship construction in fiscal 2022. The contract was awarded through a full and open competition, with multiple offers received. On April 30, 2020, the Navy awarded the Detail Design and Construction (DD&C) contract for 10 ships (one base-year ship and nine option ships) and obligated funding for FFG 62 to Marinette Marine Corporation (also known as Fincantieri Marinette Marine) in Marinette, Wisconsin. These capabilities include an Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR), Baseline Ten (BL10) Aegis Combat System, an Mk 41 Vertical Launch System, communications systems, countermeasures, and added capability in the electronic warfare/information operations area with design flexibility for future growth. FFG 62 will be fielded with multi-mission capability to conduct air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, surface warfare, electromagnetic maneuver warfare.
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