HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding yard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the U.S. Navy’s new FF(X) frigate program will enter pre-construction under a newly awarded $283 million lead yard support contract. Photo courtesy HII/Ingalls Shipbuilding.
Navy Awards HII $283 Million Contract to Kick Off FF(X) Frigate Construction
The U.S. Navy has awarded HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding a $283 million contract to begin lead yard support work for the Navy’s new FF(X)
program, marking a major next step in the service’s effort to accelerate delivery of a new class of small surface combatants.
The contract covers long-lead material procurement, design work and pre-construction activities for the first ship, while also allowing Ingalls to begin cutting and shaping raw material as the program transitions from design toward production.
The award is one of the first major contractual moves since the Navy’s December 2025 decision to
base its next-generation frigate
on Ingalls’ proven Legend-class National Security Cutter design after
canceling four troubled Constellation-class frigates
“We are proud of our past performance in engineering, design and production of warships that meet U.S. military standards,” Ingalls Shipbuilding President Brian Blanchette said in a statement. “We are excited to partner with the Navy to bring these preproduction steps under contract to accelerate delivery of the frigates that our warfighters need.”
The Navy has framed the FF(X) program as a speed-driven reset for its small surface combatant fleet, leaning on an existing design and established production line in an effort to avoid the delays and design instability that plagued the Constellation-class program.
Under the contract, Ingalls will begin foundational work on the lead ship’s structure and construction sequencing while supporting broader design maturation. The Pascagoula shipyard plans to build the frigates alongside ongoing production of Arleigh Burke Flight III destroyers, America-class amphibious assault ships and San Antonio-class amphibious transport docks.
The award also reinforces the Navy’s “lead yard and competitive follow-on” contracting approach, which aims to use Ingalls as the prime builder while potentially expanding construction across additional U.S. yards as the program scales.
The frigate effort has become a central element of the administration’s broader “
” and maritime industrial base agenda, which has emphasized faster procurement, distributed shipbuilding and leveraging proven designs to close what officials describe as an urgent gap in fleet capacity.
Ingalls said it has invested more than $1 billion in shipyard modernization and is evaluating ways to expand capacity further, including distributed shipbuilding partnerships and potentially adding another U.S. shipyard.
The Navy selected the 418-foot Legend-class cutter design as the basis for FF(X) in part because of its mature production record. Ingalls has delivered ten National Security Cutters to the Coast Guard, giving the Navy a platform officials argue can reach the fleet faster than a clean-sheet combatant.
The new frigates are intended to serve as smaller, more agile warships complementing larger destroyers while providing flexibility for surface warfare and unmanned systems operations.
The contract suggests the Navy is moving quickly to preserve its stated goal of getting the first FF(X) in the water by 2028.