FFG(X) coming into focus

WASHINGTON - The Navy is zeroing in on a cost and the shape of its new frigate (FFG(X)) as it prepares to launch an open competition in the summer. Through the conceptual design phase, which began in 2018, the Navy asked for feedback from the five competitors – Lockheed Martin, Austal USA of Mobile, Ala., Fincantieri, Navantia, and Huntington Ingalls of Pascagoula, Miss. The result was more than 300 suggestions for ways to evolve the design and save money, according to Naval Sea Systems Command’s FFG(X) program director Regan Campbell. Some 200 were accepted by the Navy. The five designs include LM’s mono-hull and Austal’s trimaran variant of the Littoral Combat Ship; Fincantieri’s FREMM; Navantia’s F-100 frigate; and HII’s national security cutter design. The Navy is expecting other designs may get in on the detailed design phase, says Campbell. The shadow company may be BAE Systems’ Type 26, which has won frigate competitions in the U.K., Canada and Australia. (Source: Defense News 01/28/19)