As the second ship of the constellation
class frigate program, the USS Congress
will provide a highly capable, next
generation surface combatant that our
navy and nation needs. Captain Kevin Smith major program manager for the
constellation class frigates said in a
statement following the announcement, the frigate will be built at fincantieri
marinette marines wisconsin shipyard, where preparations for construction on
the lead ship, constellation are underway.
Navy officials say the future frigate
congress will be capable of air, anti-submarine surface and electronic
warfare. It will carry the MK 110 57 millimeters
gun and MK 41 vertical launch system. The constellation class frigate will be
an important part of the navy's future
fleet a service news release on the deal
for the second next gen frigate states. It represents the evolution of the
navy's small surface combatant force
with increased lethality survivability
and improved capability to support the
national defense strategy across the
full range of military operations.
It will help conduct distributed
maritime operations more effectively and
improve the navy's ability to fight both
in contested blue water and literal
environments. It adds, the navy has plans to build up to 20 of
the new frigates. The initial contract awarded to
fincantieri marinette marine to design
and build the first of the new guided
missile frigates also included plans for
up to nine more ships from the firm a
deal that's ultimately worth more than
5.5 billion dollars.
Leaders say the new vessels will allow
the navy to fight both on the high seas
and near the shore. The ships are expected to have more
capabilities than littoral combat ships, but will cost less than cruisers and
destroyers. Though it's classified as a small
surface combatant it really falls nicely
in between our small surface combatants
and our large surface combatants.
Vice Admiral Jim Kilby deputy chief of naval
operations for warfare requirements and
capabilities told reporters last year
and i see it doing multiple things
this is going to be a real workhorse for
the united states navy, supporting
distributed maritime operations in the
future.
Former navy secretary Kenneth Braithwaite announced during a december
hearing on capitol hill that the second
new frigate would be named Congress. USS Congress to honor and recognize the
work that you and your staff do every
day to support our sailors, our marines
and the people of the united states of
america, great weight told senate armed
services committee members.
