Surface Navy 2026: HII CEO has ‘high confidence' new USN frigate replacement can be launched by 2028

The design of the US Coast Guard National Security Cutter, like the one shown here, will be the template for the new US Navy frigate programme replacement. (Northrop Grumman)

HII should be able to launch the proposed new US Navy (USN) small surface combatant (SSC) meant to replace the cancelled guided-missile Constellation-class frigate programme by 2028, according to Chris Kastner, the CEO of HII.

The USN selected HII to build a class of smaller combatant ships (FF(X)), “as a critical component of the navy's fleet of the future. The FF(X) will be a smaller, more agile surface combatant designed to complement the fleet's larger, multimission warships and enhance operational flexibility around the globe”, the USN confirmed on 19 December 2025 in a release.

For more information about the HII selection, please see US Navy confirms HII will design and build new small surface combatant .

“To deliver at speed and scale, I've directed the acquisition of a new frigate class based on HII's Legend-class National Security Cutter (NSC) design – a proven, American-built ship that has been protecting US interests at home and abroad,” USN Secretary John Phelan said in the release.

“We were brought into [it] to provide an alternative to the Constellation class,” Kastner said on 8 January during a roundtable discussion with the media in advance of the Surface Navy Association National Symposium 2026, which started on 13 January in Arlington, Virginia.

“It [FF(X)] is a derivative of the NSC. We're going to build the first couple. I have high confidence we can get that in the water in 2028. When I say in the water, that means launched by 2028,” Kastner said.