After being deeply taught a lesson by the Houthis, the US military began to worry about the "war of great powers", and its shortcomings were also exposed.
In recent times, the US Navy has frequently carried out active attacks and responses in the Red Sea region, but such actions have led to a series of problems for the US Navy. One of the main concerns that the Pentagon is beginning to focus on is that the US Navy may face the dilemma of insufficient number of vertical launch systems in response to future large-scale conflicts.
In particular, the number of vertical launch systems of the new generation of "Constellation" class frigates, although they are designed with an advanced Aegis air defense system and 32 MK41 vertical launch units, has been questioned.
MK41 vertical launchers of different models
Deliveries of the Constellation-class frigates are expected to begin in 2027 and are highly anticipated by the US Navy. Although the ship has a displacement of more than 6,000 tons, which is already more than some destroyers, the latest combat experience shows that the design of the "Constellation" class frigate may still not meet the needs of the US military.
During this time, US Navy ships shot down a large number of UAV and anti-ship missile targets in the Red Sea region, and one of them, a destroyer, intercepted at least 37 times on its own. According to the design of the "Constellation" class frigate, it is also equipped with the main gun and the laser weapons it is planned to carry, which can be used for air defense interception, but because of its limited range, it still mainly relies on shipborne air defense missiles to carry out interception tasks.
However, because the Constellation-class frigates also need to carry anti-submarine missiles, long-range anti-ship missiles and cruise missiles, the actual number of anti-aircraft missiles carried may not be large, so they cannot shoulder the heavy responsibility of air defense.
In fact, the most serious threat to the U.S. Navy today comes from the air, whether its opponents are the Houthis, Iran, or other powers, anti-ship missiles are the biggest threat. And the frigates themselves are mainly used for anti-submarine and anti-aircraft escort, and now, the "Constellation" class frigates may not even be able to do their jobs.
The Houthis demonstrate anti-ship missiles
The lessons learned by the U.S. Navy in the Red Sea operations have exposed the shortcomings of its vertical launch system missiles, in addition to the limited number of missiles in its vertical launch system, as well as its lack of refill capabilities at sea.
The U.S. Navy is currently unable to reload the vertical launch systems of surface ships at sea, and although submarine supply vessels can replenish submarines with missiles and torpedoes at sea, the limited number of submarine supply vessels in service cannot meet demand.
The U.S. Navy is aware of the seriousness of the problem and will test a modular mobile refill armament system in the second half of this year, which is expected to be operational within two to three years. However, this forecast is generally considered to be overly optimistic.
Moreover, the experience of the Red Sea region cannot be applied to the whole world, and the US military is a global navy that faces different opponents, and it is unrealistic to use the Red Sea experience alone to enhance its global combat power.
Renderings of the Constellation-class frigates
It is worth mentioning that the U.S. Navy originally canceled the frigate for a time, and since the last "Perry-class" frigate was retired in 2015, the U.S. military has no frigates available.
At that time, the U.S. military believed that it was invincible in the world and that the navy no longer needed "escorts", so it developed littoral combat ships to replace frigates, turning "escorts" into attacks along the coastline. Its naval strategy has also changed to a "sea-to-land" strategy.
But with the rise of other powers, the United States suddenly realized the importance of corvettes. The U.S. military found that once it confronted a maritime power at sea, the performance of the littoral combat ship could not be compared with that of the frigate, which was neither flexible nor durable, nor fully functional. If you use a destroyer, the cost of construction and use is very expensive, and the economic applicability is not as good as that of a frigate.
So starting in 2020, the United States decided to rebuild the frigate, and then launched the "Constellation" class frigate. In addition, the US Navy also hopes to explore the design and construction of new destroyers for the US Navy through the "Constellation" class.
Therefore, the mission of the "Constellation" class is so important that Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday even issued a military order requiring the frigate to "only succeed and not fail."
It is not difficult to see that the "Constellation" class frigate is not only a warship positioned for the future, but also a warship that catches ducks on the shelves. It contains the needs of the US military for the future, and it is also full of outdated ideas and thinking.
In terms of the future, it is indeed solving the problems of the US military. However, it has also inherited the shortcomings of the US Navy in advocating a multi-purpose ship and wanting to do everything, and as a result, it naturally cannot do anything.