Trump tours Marinette shipyard: 5 things to know about the Navy’s FFG(X) cruiser
First ship is expected to cost about $1.3B
President Trump will tour the Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Wisconsin on Thursday, where the construction of new guided military cruisers are underway.
Trump is believed to be the first sitting U.S. president to ever visit Marinette, Wisconsin, where the shipyard is expected to be expanded – creating thousands of new jobs.
In April, the U.S. Navy awarded the FFG(X) program to the team led by the Fincantieri/Marinette Marine – three months ahead of schedule.
It is the first new, major shipbuilding program for the Navy in about 10 years.
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Here are five things to know about the new FFG(X) cruiser ship.
What is the FFG(X) program?
The FFG(X) program is an initiative to build 20 guided-missile frigates (FFGs) on behalf of the U.S. Navy.
In terms of the name, “FF” means frigate, “G” means guided-missile ship and “(X)” indicates that the specific design of the ship has not yet been determined.
Four teams competed for the detail, design and construction contract for as many as 10 ships. The total value of the contract is more than $5.5 billion if all options are exercised. It is fixed price, which means the government will not pay if costs exceed the contract value.
The acquisition process began in 2017.
Congress funded the procurement of the first FFG(X) in fiscal 2020 at a cost of about $1.3 billion.
Work is expected to be performed at multiple locations in addition to Marinette, including Boston, Crozet, Virginia, and New Orleans.
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Ship design
The program is an evolution of the Navy’s small-surface combatant, and the ships will be multimission – capable of conducting air warfare, antisubmarine warfare, surface warfare, electronic warfare and information operations. They will be capable of conducting warfare mid-ocean and near shore areas.
Frigates are designed to operate in lower-threat areas, as opposed to cruisers and destroyers.
Marinette based the design of its frigate on the FREMM multimission frigate, used by the Italian and French navies.
The most recent class of frigates operated by the Navy was the Oliver Hazard Perry (FFG-7) class, which entered service between 1977 and 1989.
Cost
The first ship will cost more than $1.28 billion, but the government expects the remaining frigates to cost less.
The Navy’s proposed fiscal 2021 budget requests about $1.1 billion for the procurement of the second hull – and expects the remaining ships will cost about $940 million apiece.
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Delivery
The first 10 ships are expected to be delivered by 2035.
Oversights
According to a report issued by the Congressional Research Service, the Navy may have overlooked several factors when planning out its new guided-missile frigate program.
The first is how the pandemic could affect the execution of the shipbuilding program.
Another is whether the Navy’s cost estimates for building the frigates are accurate. Some reports estimate that it could wind up being larger than anticipated.
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