A rendering of the Navy's planned FF(X) frigate shared by Jason Potter, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, on April 28, 2026. (U.S. Navy)
The U.S. Navy awarded a nearly $283 million contract to HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding to jumpstart work on a new frigate meant to recover from the delays and costs of the abandoned Constellation-class program.
The first $80.6 million of the contract allows Ingall’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., to begin pre-construction efforts, secure key materials and refine designs for the future FF(X) frigate, according to Tuesday announcements from the company and the Pentagon.
No competing bids were sought for the contract due to “unusual and compelling urgency,” the Pentagon said in its contract announcement.
Former Navy Secretary John Phelan announced in November that the Navy would abandon most of the $22 billion Constellation-class guided-missile frigate program that was fraught with delays and inflated costs. The program’s first two ships, the USS Constellation and USS Congress, will still be completed, but construction of four additional ships was cancelled.
HII's Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Miss., in an undated photograph. (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
Phelan, who was ousted last week, announced in December that the Navy would instead pursue the FF(X) program using the Coast Guard’s Legend-class national security cutter as a framework to save on time and design costs.
Under the new contract, Ingalls will begin “cutting and shaping raw materials to support future phases of work on the main structure foundation and the overall construction sequencing plan of the first frigate,” according to the company.
“We are excited to partner with the Navy to bring these preproduction steps under contract to accelerate delivery of the frigates that our warfighters need,” Brian Blanchette, Ingalls Shipbuilding president, said in the news release.
About 73% of the contract’s initial $80.6 million funding will be sourced from the Navy’s fiscal 2026 shipbuilding and conversion funds, while the remaining 27% is funded through Navy research and development funds, according to the Pentagon.
The Pentagon’s pursuit of a new frigate is part of President Donald Trump’s “Golden Fleet” initiative, which also aims to secure another new class, the BBG(X), also known as the Trump-class battleship.
The FF(X) and BBG(X) represent the Navy’s attempt to secure “a new small surface combatant ship and a much larger surface combatant with significant fire power,” according to the Defense Department’s Budget Overview Book for fiscal year 2027.
The Navy’s fiscal year 2026 budget request includes $65.8 billion to buy 18 warships and 16 auxiliary ships, including three submarines, a destroyer and an amphibious assault ship.
Also included is the first FF(X) frigate, support for the design and development of the BBG(X) and continued incremental funding for the third and fourth Ford-class aircraft carriers, according to an April 21 news release from the Navy.
