The U.S. Navy will complete only two Constellation-class frigates, USS Constellation (FFG-62) and USS Congress (FFG-63), after Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced on November 25, 2025 that the program's remaining four hulls would be canceled before construction began, per USNI News. The Navy is now pursuing a separate small-combatant program, designated FF(X), built on the U.S. Coast Guard's Legend-class National Security Cutter design, with a first hull targeted for 2028.
What did the Navy actually cancel?
On November 25, 2025, Secretary of the Navy John Phelan announced via social media that the Navy would cancel the last four of six planned Constellation-class frigates, according to USNI News' November 25, 2025 report. USS Constellation (FFG-62) and USS Congress (FFG-63) — the two vessels already under construction at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin — will continue to completion. A senior defense official cited by USNI News said, \"A key factor in this decision is the need to grow the fleet faster to meet tomorrow's threats,\" and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth was quoted stating, \"Speed to delivery is now our organizing principle.\"
How far along was construction when the program was cut?
Lead ship USS Constellation (FFG-62) was approximately 12 percent complete at the time of the November 2025 announcement, according to USNI News. Six frigates had been procured through Congress from FY2020 through FY2025 — one ship annually from FY2020 to FY2023, then two in FY2024 — per USNI News' January 6, 2026 report to Congress summary. The FY2026 Navy budget request included zero additional Constellation-class ships, formalizing the truncation to two hulls.
Why did the Navy cancel the remaining four ships?
Secretary Phelan framed the decision around cost-to-capability ratio, stating the FFG-62 design \"was 80 percent of the cost of a [larger DDG-51-class] destroyer and 60 percent of the capability. You might as well build destroyers,\" as reported by USNI News on January 6, 2026. Separately, the Government Accountability Office had previously found the frigate's design remained unstable and had stalled construction, delaying delivery schedules, in its report GAO-24-106546.
What happens to the money already appropriated for the program?
Congress had appropriated $7.6 billion in contract options covering all six originally planned frigates, and the Navy had obligated roughly $2 billion toward the program by the time of cancellation, per USNI News' November 25, 2025 reporting. USNI News' February 6, 2026 report on the FY2026 defense appropriations bill states that $2.57 billion tied to the canceled Constellation hulls was clawed back and redirected, with $242 million allocated specifically as long-lead funding for the new FF(X) program.
What is the FF(X) program that replaces the canceled hulls?
FF(X) is a new small-surface-combatant program based on the U.S. Coast Guard's Legend-class National Security Cutter, a design USNI News (December 19, 2025) reported the Navy is adopting with minimal modification. Secretary Phelan described it as \"built on a proven American design, in American shipyards, with an American supply chain,\" while Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Daryl Caudle called it \"an American design backed by American workers, American suppliers and an established logistics and maintenance network,\" per the same USNI News report.
What are the FF(X)'s specifications and who is building it?
Per USNI News' December 19, 2025 report, the FF(X) design displaces approximately 4,000 tons and carries a crew of roughly 140 sailors. The Navy's principal design change from the National Security Cutter baseline is a platform above the open boat deck intended for containerized mission packages, potentially including the MK-70 Typhon vertical launch system in future increments, though the initial design remains largely unmodified from the Coast Guard cutter. The Navy issued a sole-source initial award to Huntington Ingalls Industries' Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, with a first-hull target of 2028, per USNI News' February 6, 2026 report. HII CEO Chris Kastner told USNI News, \"Very confident we're gonna build the first two boats in that class,\" referring to the retained Constellation-class ships. The Navy has said it intends to open subsequent FF(X) construction to competitive bidding at additional shipyards.
What happens to Fincantieri Marinette Marine?
Fincantieri Marinette Marine retains contracted work completing FFG-62 and FFG-63 and is pursuing new amphibious and unmanned-vessel contracts intended to sustain its roughly 3,000-person workforce, according to USNI News' November 25, 2025 report. A Navy spokesperson quoted in USNI News' February 6, 2026 report stated, \"Ship construction funds for FFG-62 and FFG-63 were not affected, and construction continues on those ships.\"
What is still undecided?
Congress must still act on the Navy's restructuring proposal, which USNI News' January 6, 2026 report to Congress notes carries implications for fleet capability, budget authority, and the domestic shipbuilding industrial base. The Navy has also said it is evaluating additional classes of small surface combatants, manned and unmanned, against a stated total requirement of 73 small surface combatants, per USNI News' November 25, 2025 report.
FAQ
Will USS Constellation (FFG-62) still be delivered? Yes — the Navy has said construction continues on FFG-62 and FFG-63 at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, and their funding was not affected by the cancellation, per USNI News' February 6, 2026 report.
Is FF(X) the same ship as the Constellation class? No. FF(X) is a separate program based on the Coast Guard's Legend-class National Security Cutter design, distinct from the Constellation class's Italian FREMM-derived design, per USNI News' December 19, 2025 report.
For a related fleet perspective, read Virginia-Class Attack Submarines: The Navy's Fast-Attack Fleet, As of 2026.