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At this point we’d be a lot better off canceling the Constellation program and firing everyone involved.
Then go out and contract with the various foreign shipyards that are building modern frigates and accepting them as is with the only “modifications” being the translated documents to American English.
We’d at least get some hulls in the water.
It’s not that simple, as you know. Sensors, comms equipment, guns, etc also need translation to US kit. But that’s not the problem with CONSTELLATION.
It’s that the Navy and the US designers keep playing with the design as the poor shipyards are trying to build the damn things.
Aware of that. A certain degree of sarcasm combined with disgusted frustration.
It was supposed to be something like 85% common and 15% USN unique. They have managed to flip those percentages and still going downhill.
I can see some of those changes but they might as well started from a clean sheet as far as they have screwed this up.
At the rate they’re going, we could contract with a PLA shipyard and be better off. (Sarcasm) we need a Sarcasm button….
It’s not that simple, as you know. Sensors, comms equipment, guns, etc also need translation to US kit. But that’s not the problem with CONSTELLATION.
It’s that the Navy and the US designers keep playing with the design as the poor shipyards are trying to build the damn things.
Aware of that. A certain degree of sarcasm combined with disgusted frustration.
It was supposed to be something like 85% common and 15% USN unique. They have managed to flip those percentages and still going downhill.
I can see some of those changes but they might as well started from a clean sheet as far as they have screwed this up.
At the rate they’re going, we could contract with a PLA shipyard and be better off. (Sarcasm) we need a Sarcasm button….
Makes you wonder if thee 85/15 wasn't the goal all along. Didn't USN have to shoved, nearly at gunpoint, by congress to consider a foreign design? They picked one and promptly redesigned it.
The USN would never purposely go out and do that, right?
Bernard Woolley wrote: ↑Thu Jun 12, 2025 8:06 am
You could have had the Type 26 you know.
The USN could not handle the Type 26. It only has 24 missile cells. The RAN has folded, spindled and mutilated the design to bump that to 32, but they’ve had to put more into redesigning it than the USN has put into Constellation.
Sounds like it’s time to relearn that you can’t actually put 10 pounds of Smarties in a 5 pound bag.
I thought the major problem the RAN has had in doing the design modifications from the baseline Type 26 was the weight of the CEAFAR arrays? The additional topweight was described as the biggest challenge in an interview that was done with BAE at one point. A topweight challenge that the Constellation class is also apparently having.
At one point I think the plan was to place the extra Mk41 module for the Hunter Class in the space where the UK version has the Sea Ceptor (CAMM) silo. I'm not sure what the current plan is as the usual cold vs hot launch issues have probably cropped up.
It's the CAMM silo that makes Type 26 a 48 Sea Ceptor plus 24 of whatever the RN can afford for the Mk41 system (rumours abound of an eventual purchase of VL ASROC and CAMM MR as a trade offset deal with Poland but Artisan arguably doesn't have enough performance to make it worthwhile).
Interesting that BAE are now pitching a version of the Hunter class thas is potentially 96 Mk41 cells "at minimal extra cost". Somehow I think the BAE version of minimal might not be the same as the RAN one.
