The U.S. Navy has laid out its plans for the us navy ff(x) frigate program in Fiscal Year 2027 budget documents, setting up a rapid push to field a new class of smaller surface vessels. The first FF(X) frigate is now planned to launch in the first quarter of Fiscal Year 2029, which would put the launch in late calendar year 2028, with delivery expected by the end of the third quarter of Fiscal Year 2030.
That delivery window falls between April and June of calendar year 2030, putting the first ship roughly four years after program start if the schedule holds. The Navy is asking for about $1.429 billion for the program in FY 2027, including $212 million for further research and development.
Most of that research and development money is slated for work that has to happen before the first hull can be judged ready: validating ship systems, planning future tests, integrating modular payloads and uncrewed surface vessels, and studying the design for the second flight of the frigates. Design work for Flight 2 has already been initiated, even as the service tries to keep the first configuration moving quickly.
The starting point is the National Security Cutter baseline, with FF(X) derived from the Legend-class Coast Guard cutter design. The Navy plans for Huntington Ingalls Industries to use components from the cancelled 11th ship of the Legend-class coast guard cutters, a shortcut meant to help compress production time. Flight 1 will make up at least the first two vessels and will have as little modification from the baseline as possible.
Those early ships will still carry changes that matter. The main differences in Flight 1 include a Rolling Airframe Missile launcher for point defense, an SPS-77 variant air search radar and a repurposed stern boat ramp to enable carriage of containerized payloads. The service is trying to move fast, but it is also signaling that the early version will be limited by design.
That is why the next step is already being studied. The Navy says inquiries into potential designs for Flight 2 are underway, and it is considering adding Vertical Launching Systems that would allow the frigate to carry missiles such as ESSM, SM-2, SM-6 and VL-ASROC. The rationale, the service says, is to make the ships more flexible and usable beyond low-end engagements.
Anti-Submarine Warfare is another concern. The Navy is looking into the potential integration of innate anti-submarine warfare systems into FF(X)'s architecture, a sign that the class is being shaped for a broader fight than the first ships would suggest. Between 55 and 60 FF(X) frigates are planned, and a majority of them are likely to be an upgraded standard with enhanced ASW and AAW capabilities.
The program’s logic is straightforward: build quickly first, then improve. If the timeline holds, the Navy will not just get a new frigate in 2030; it will get a class designed to evolve after the first two hulls, with the later ships carrying the heavier weapons and anti-submarine tools the service says it needs.