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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.
In service since 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
Fielded & proven
Limited · 1 operator
In service since 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.
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.
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 Stronger than 50% of warships
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 Stronger than 41% of warships
- Units built
Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.
- 0 Bottom 4% of warships
- Operator countries
Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.
- 1 Stronger than 45% of warships
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
Navantia Alvaro de Bazan class (F100) 
Fincantieri Bergamini class (FREMM) 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.
