It sounds almost unbelievable: the US Navy, once the undisputed master of the world’s oceans, finds itself in an unprecedented crisis. Large, expensive shipbuilding projects are being halted, long-running construction programmes are faltering, and the fleet is in danger of falling behind a fast-growing Chinese navy in numbers. Last month more bad news came out: the Constellation-class frigates are being cancelled. The US Navy seems to be caught in a strategic stranglehold.
A series of fiascos
The Constellation class, originally based on the successful European FREMM frigate, was to be a fast, agile and relatively cheap addition to the American fleet. Things turned out differently. Four of the six ships have been cancelled, and the first two ships under construction — USS Constellation (FFG‑62) and FFG‑63 — are up in the air. Years of design changes, cost explosions and delays have turned the frigate into a very different ship: barely recognisable as a FREMM. In fact, the design now only matches the original European model by 15%.
It is not the only debacle. The Zumwalt class, the high-tech stealth destroyers, were initially seen as revolutionary. In reality they proved too complex and expensive, and only three ships were ever built. The Independence-class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) were praised for speed and modularity, but did not meet expectations: vulnerable, poorly armed and hard to deploy over long distances and on the open ocean.
The only lifeline: Arleigh Burke Flight III
The ship that does perform and is still in production is the Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyer, but there are problems here too. Construction takes years, only a handful of ships are being built, and the production rate cannot compete with China’s industrial machine. Still, the Flight III remains a showcase of advanced American technology: 96 vertical launch cells (VLS), improved radar, air defence and missile defence. But the numbers are insufficient to keep pace with the rapid expansion of the Chinese navy.
Photo: the Arleigh Burke Flight III
China: a fleet that is growing fast
Opposite these problems stands the rise of the Chinese navy (PLAN). The Type 055 destroyers, each carrying 112 VLS cells, are huge compared with the Arleigh Burke. Since 2020 at least eight Type 055s have been commissioned, and several more ships are under construction. The Chinese navy is constantly building, with several classes at once, making its navy grow exponentially.
In addition, China is working on countless other modern surface ships: Type 052D destroyers, Type 054A frigates, and specialised amphibious and support ships.
The pace of China’s building campaign is impressive: by 2030 the PLAN could have more than 435 ships, a fleet that is not only numerically larger, but also strategically advanced. For the US, this is a quantitative and qualitative challenge.
What does the American leadership say?
The Navy and the Pentagon have decided to take a more pragmatic approach. Navy Secretary Phelan said:
“I will not spend a taxpayer dollar if it does not contribute to our readiness or our ability to defeat future threats.”
In concrete terms, this means: no more expensive, long-running frigate programmes, and a focus on faster construction, modularity, drones, submarines and new missile systems. It is an acknowledgement that the traditional strategy of large, multi-role surface ships has become too slow and too costly.
The new focus is on maintaining qualitative superiority rather than quantitative dominance, but that carries risks.
Photo: Type 055 China
The race against time
The coming years will be crucial. The US must choose: either invest massively in fast, modular ships, or rely on existing ships such as the Arleigh Burke Flight III and new technologies such as DDG(X) and hypersonic weapons. At the same time, the Navy must optimise shipbuilding capacity and budgets, or risk a gap that could last for decades.
For the US Navy it is a race against time: the ships on the slipways today will determine who actually controls the world’s oceans in 2030-2035. For China, every newly built Type 055 or Type 052D strengthens its claim on the region and is a direct challenge to American maritime dominance.
