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- Secretary of the Navy John Phelan said he has directed the acquisition of a new frigate class based on HII’s Ingalls-built Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC), “a proven American built ship.”
The U.S. Navy announced early Friday morning that Ingalls Shipbuilding in Pascagoula, a division of HII, has been selected to design and build the future small surface combatant ship.
Secretary of the Navy John Phelan shared the news via social media, stating, “I have directed a new Frigate class as part of [the President’s] Golden Fleet. Built on a proven American design, in American shipyards, with an American supply chain, this effort is focused on one outcome: delivering combat power to the Fleet fast.”
To combat global threats, Phelan said the Navy seeks to unleash the American industrial base to achieve the department’s goals of delivering “on a wartime footing.”
Admiral Darryl Caudle, Chief of Naval Operations, said the number of U.S small surface combatants’ inventory are a third of what the Navy needs.
“We need more capable, blue water small combatants to close the gap,” Caudle said.
Secretary Phelan said he has directed the acquisition of a new frigate class based on HII’s Ingalls-built Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC), “a proven American built ship.”
Phelan added that President Donald Trump and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth have signed off on the acquisition using a lead yard and competitive follow-on strategy for multi-yard construction.
Chris Kastner, HII president and CEO, said the company looks forward to supporting the Navy on this critical program.
“Speed matters, and the NSC ship design is stable and produceable and will lead to predictable schedules,” Kastner said. “I have great confidence in the Ingalls team to execute this program, and in our ongoing efforts with our partners to successfully expand the U.S. shipbuilding industrial base to meet the Navy’s needs.”
An HII spokesperson told Magnolia Tribune that the shipbuilder will leverage its proven design of the Ingalls-built NSC, using the same sequence of build at the Mississippi Coast facility.
Ingalls, which employees nearly 11,000 at its Mississippi yard, has the available facility capacity to achieve the Navy’s goals while also continuing its construction activities alongside its destroyer and amphibious ship shipbuilding lines.
“We have the workforce needed to fulfill the requirements. We are continuously investing in workforce development to ensure we have the necessary talent to meet future demands and have a robust supplier network,” the spokesperson said. “Additionally, we have a distributed shipbuilding network that relies on talent beyond the company’s traditional labor market to accomplish the required amount of work for the three other ship building lines at Ingalls.”
Ingalls is simultaneously building three classes of ships (DDG 51 Flight III, LHA, and LPD Flight II) and modernizing the Zumwalt-class of guided missile destroyers with technology upgrades including the incorporation of the conventional prompt strike weapons system. Ingalls supported the U.S. Coast Guard for nearly two decades by building and delivering 10 Legend-class National Security Cutters (NSCs). The final cutter was delivered in October 2023.
The Navy expects to have the first of the new small surface combatants in the water by 2028. The HII spokesperson said they are confident in their ability to meet that timeline, and “then conduct final outfitting, systems activation, and testing before delivering to the Fleet.”
HII noted that the contract approach for the build is being finalized and they will begin start work “as soon as a funding contract and material are available.”
HII said it has invested over $1 billion in the infrastructure, facility and toolsets at Ingalls Shipbuilding, positioning the shipyard to support next-generation systems and platforms. HII this year has distributed shipbuilding work to 23 outsourcing partners, and established partnerships with international manufacturers, to explore meaningful ways to expand capacity including evaluation of adding an additional shipyard in the U.S.
Frank Corder
