USN may award FFG(X) contract early

WASHINGTON – The Navy’s next-generation frigate (FFG(X)) may be awarded a lot sooner than expected, Acting Secretary of the Navy Thomas Modly told radio talk show host Hugh Hewitt on Feb. 28. Modly has tasked Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts to look at accelerating the contract award of the first-in-class ship, which was slated for the fall. “(H)e’s looking into the possibilities for doing that,” he stated. “But obviously … we have acquisition rules, and we want to make sure that we do this in the proper way.” The competition to bid will likely come from Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard; a team of Navantia and General Dynamics’ Bath (Maine) Iron Works and Fincantieri; and Austal USA of Mobile, Ala. Austal is submitting a version of its Independence Class Littoral Combat Ship; and HII-Pascagoula is believed to be offering an up-gunned version of its national security cutter. The FFG(X) is supposed to be a small, multi-mission ship with a modified version of Raytheon’s SPY-6 radar, Lockheed Martin’s Aegis Combat System, and other defense systems and 32 vertical launch cells for about half the cost of a destroyer. The first ship ordered in 2020 is expected to cost $1.28B, according to budget documents. The second in FY 2021 drops to $1.05B. The Navy anticipates it to take six years to complete design and construction of the first ship. Planners anticipate it will take 48 months to build. The second frigate is expected to be ordered in April 2021, and delivered in 5.5 years after the award date. The first ship should be delivered to the fleet in July 2026; and the second about three months later. (Navy Times 02/28/20) https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/02/28/the-us-navys-ffgx-could-be-awarded-sooner-than-expected/