Fincantieri Marinette Marine (FMM) made headway on the US Navy’s Constellation-class frigate programme with major dignataries attending the keel laying of the first vessel in the new fleet, the USS Constitution (FFG 62), on 12 April 2024.

Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro and Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Lisa Franchetti participated in the ceremony at the busy shipyard, along with Wisconsin governor Tony Evers and Fincantieri Marine Group CEO Marco Galbiati.

Hundreds of shipbuilders within FMM – the US division of the Italian Fincantieri parent company – gathered inside the shipyard’s new climate-controlled ‘Building 34’, where large portions of a ship are connected and the vessel is erected. 

The building is part of the completed facility that amounted to $350m in improvements and new construction. Since 2009, Fincantieri has invested more than half a billion dollars into creating one of the nation’s most modern shipyards.

The tradition behind the keel laying ceremony is centuries-old; it signifies the beginning of a new ship. The ceremony highlights the authentication of the keel, a process of tracing by weld the initials of a significant individual onto a small steel plate affixed to the ship’s keel. Melissa Braithwaite was named the ship’s sponsor; she is the wife of former Navy secretary, Kenneth Braithwaite.

Constellation – a new frigate to replace the LCS

“Today, we are laying the keel for the Navy’s next generation small surface combatant, the future workforce of our fleet,” Franchetii declared. “This ship will be critical to putting more players on the field, players that the Navy needs to promote our nation’s prosperity and security, to deter aggression and to provide options to our nation’s leaders every single day.”

FMM won a contract for $795m in April 2020 for the lead frigate and nine additional vessels; the ship is based on the European FREMM frigate platform. If the Navy exercises all of the options, the contract will be worth more than $5.5bn. To date, the Navy has five Constellation-class frigates on order with FMM, with five additional options remaining on the original contract.

It will carry out multiple missions, including anti-air warfare, anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and electronic warfare. It can operate independently or as a part of a strike group. It is designed to perform operations in littoral (coastal) and blue water (oceanic) environments.

USS Constellation is scheduled to be delivered in 2026 and is expected to achieve initial operational capability by 2030.

Mark Cancian, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based think tank, told Naval Technology that the Littoral Combat Ship programme – of which many ships are facing decommissioning earlier than expected –  “was not really designed during the current focus on China, although China was coming up over the horizon.”

Meanwhile, Constellation was formed as the strategic competition between the two countries continues to grow in Washington's geopolitical priorities.