So, at this moment, we're committed to 4, whether they work or not. If they keep awarding one each budget cycle, and the first ship does not appear until 2029, then about nine of the ten will be committed to by that point. I do not know if they plan to do that, though. We might stop at these four, or switch to every other cycle. Requires reading I have not done.
As of now, we're getting four for sure.
I ran a search for a second flight. Got nothing. No second flight planned that I can find. There was earlier talk of going for a 48 cell VLS. It got shut down:
https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/11/u-s-navys-constellation-class-frigate-vls-cell-count-debate-settled/
In other news, the ship was originally not intended to get either Tomahawk, or SM-6 missiles, but Congress did not like that, and has required the Navy to add them:
https://news.usni.org/2023/04/11/no-timeline-yet-to-add-tomahawk-sm-6-to-constellation-frigates-says-program-manager
Notice mention is made that Tomahawk does not fit. No matter what search terms I use, Google will no longer show me the article I read a time back with the expanded comments quoted more briefly here. While SM-6 is mostly a software upgrade, installing Tomahawk requires installing the Tomahawk Weapons Control Console (TWCC.) That is on the bridge of any Burke, but the bridge layout of the frigate was not designed with this, and it won't fit. No space for it. A bridge redesign is now underway as a result. (This is what happens when your design is not flexible, and can only take fixed systems.)
I actually agree with the upgrade, but here's the case against it:
https://centerformaritimestrategy.org/publications/dont-fix-the-frigate-ffg-62-class-is-fine-without-sm-6-and-tomahawk/
This is moot, because Congress has ordered it. Mission creep already. It never takes long.
...before we know whether or not we got this one right?
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