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United States In development General Dynamics Land Systems
Constellation-class Frigate
The U.S. Navy's new guided-missile frigate class, based on the Italian/French FREMM design and built at Fincantieri Marinette Marine, intended to restore a dedicated small surface combatant to the fleet.
Planned service entry 2026 · 1 operator countries
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
7,291
t
26
kn
32
VLS
200
crew
💲 ≈ $1,300,000,000, Approximate lead-ship program cost
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
US ITAR-controlled
Export needs U.S. State Dept (DDTC) approval; end-use & re-transfer restrictions apply.
Channel: Foreign Military Sales (FMS) or Direct Commercial Sale
Development status
Limited · 1 operator
Planned service entry 2026. Status: announced.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
$3.3B – $4.5B
Acquisition is only ~30% of lifecycle cost, operating & support dominate over ~35 yrs. Rough 2.5–3.5× the unit price. How we estimate this →
Interoperability
Derived guidance from public data, export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Compatible munitions & weapons
Publicly reported weapons the Constellation-class Frigate can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.
Full specifications
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
| Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type. | 57 mm Mk 110 naval gun |
|---|---|
| VLS cells Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship, a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming. | 32 |
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
| Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable. | 151.2 m |
|---|
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
| Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art. | AN/SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar |
|---|
Program
Cost, production scale and operators.
| Unit cost Approximate flyaway/unit cost where public. Defense pricing varies hugely by contract, offsets and configuration. Lower is cheaper. | $1,300,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability. | 0 |
| Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem. | 1 |
Specifications compiled from public General Dynamics Land Systems and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations, treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
Compare with rivals
See how it stacks up
Naval Group Amiral Ronarc'h-class Frigate (FDI) 
Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) Head-to-head comparisons
Constellation-class Frigate vs
Frequently asked questions
What is the main armament of the General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate? +
The General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate's primary weapon is the 57 mm Mk 110 naval gun.
How many countries operate the General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate? +
The General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate is operated by 1 countries.
How much does the General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate cost? +
The General Dynamics Land Systems Constellation-class Frigate has an approximate unit cost of 1,300,000,000 USD. Defense pricing varies by contract, offsets and configuration, treat this as directional.
Similar systems
Related coverage
Constellation-class Frigate in the news
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