Navy Cancels Constellation-Class Frigate Program

[jleyank]

That’s two cancelled classes…. Seems they’re not sure what they want or can’t hold to a plan. Why not keep building Burke class ships and use missile systems to handle shallow water action. Or drones, possibly gunships with standoff capability.

[ianburrell]

They are building more Burkes. The Burkes are overloaded so can't add anything else to them.

Before the costs exploded, the Constellation class frigates would have been half the cost of Burke. There are jobs that need a warship, like patrol off Yemen, but the LCS don't have the defenses.

Also, this is not a good sign for Navy ability to build the DDG(X) which will be the successor to the Burkes.

[sunscream89]

Or maybe drones have transformed the spectrum of naval warfaring.

[pixelesque]

Back to Zumwalt / LCS again? :)

Maybe try modifying someone else's again!

Semi-seriously, the Aus versions of the Type 26 (Hunter class) may actually be a good start: it has Aegis Combat System integration (albeit not via RTX) and a larger mast for the SPYs already as RAN needed those changes from the stock Type 26.

It (Type 26) also has better protection and safety than other European designs due to RN design standards being a lot closer to USN ones (and a lot of the modifications to FREMM were related to that).

[bigfatkitten]

Hunter is getting locally developed CEAFAR radar, not SPY.

https://www.cea.com.au/domains/hunter-class-future-frigate/

[balderdash]

There’s an obsession in the navy with number of ships. It’s not an insignificant number, but it’s line comparing the number of severs you have vs. the competition without taking into consideration their specs.