The US Navy’s guided-missile frigate project faces delays due to a flawed design.
The $22 billion project began construction before completing the design, which caused problems.
GAO recommends prioritizing design quality and land-based test systems to mitigate risks.
A congressional report released Wednesday reveals that the U.S. Navy’s designs for its guided-missile frigate project are flawed, stalling construction and delaying delivery of the first frigate.
“The Navy had good reason to be optimistic that the frigate program was able to deliver capabilities within the promised time frame,” the report said. “Subsequent missteps, however, jeopardized the Navy’s ability to achieve these goals.”
In order to achieve its ambitious goal of acquiring and delivering up to 20 Constellations–Class guided-missile frigates Over a 20-year period — a project expected to cost more than $22 billion — the U.S. Navy began building the first frigate before its design was complete. But it was a big mistake, a congressional watchdog found.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office reported that this misstep led to design problems that halted construction of the first ship, which began in August 2022, and will cause the frigate to be commissioned three years late .
“To reduce technical risks, the Navy and its shipbuilder modified an existing design to incorporate Navy specifications and weapons systems,” the report said. “However, the Navy’s decision to begin construction before the design is complete is inconsistent with leading ship design practices and has jeopardized this approach.”
In addition to schedule delays and halted ship construction, the Navy has yet to demonstrate the frigates’ propulsion and machine control systems.
However, the report suggests that planning delays associated with changes to the frigate testing process could allow the Navy to test these two unproven systems on land. By carrying out these tests, there may be fewer problems once the vessel is at sea.
The future frigate was designed to be a multi-mission workhorse, carrying air defense and strike missiles, as well as torpedoes for attacking submarines. It is built by Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin.
The report offered five recommendations, including that the Navy prioritize measuring the quality of ship design over the quantity of design deliverables, and that it complete and evaluate the design before moving to construction of the second frigate.
The Navy agreed to accept four of the recommendations and one of them partially, which involved updating the tests.
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