To be honest, we are not surprised to hear that the US Navy, from strategic missile submarines to amphibious assault ships, has fallen into the dilemma of delays and cost overruns.
After all, the decline of the American shipbuilding industry has long been no secret. But it was still a surprise when the "Constellation-class" frigates, a project borrowed from proven Italian designs, also fell into a quagmire.
Could it be that the Americans can't even build frigates now?
The answer is: it can be made, but it can't be made.
It seems to be contradictory, but it is actually accurate.
Of course, the strength of the US military industry can build frigates, but the reality now is that the cost is overrun, the schedule is delayed, and the prospects for the entire project are simply bleaker than dark clouds.
According to Defense News, the Constellation-class frigate program has been delayed for a full 3 years.
Supply chain issues and labor shortages.
Faced with this embarrassing situation, the US Secretary of the Navy could only instruct the design team to gather at the shipyard to seek that glimmer of life.
I thought that the technical risks could be bypassed with the help of mature Italian design, but now it has become a joke.
The project delivery time will wait until nearly 10 years after the contract is signed, which is simply the opposite of the short and fast project.
In addition to supply chain and labor issues, the U.S. Navy is also a problem with taking too big a step.
Too many design changes led to only 15% commonality with the base ship.
This unbridled enthusiasm for change directly ruined an otherwise good design.
After the original plan fell through, the U.S. Department of Defense spoke again: "Return the schedule and cost to the contract standard first, and don't think about bonuses or promotions until then." ”
Is this the military tossing the military industrial complex around? In addition, does the constellation-level procurement need to be fast?
The answer is 1.5 per year.
This speed is a piece of cake for the Chinese military industry, and we can build 15 ships a year.
It can only be said that the strength of the shipbuilding industry in the United States has declined to a staggering level.
Even more interesting is that the Americans originally did not want corvettes at all.
But because the design of the next-generation destroyer DDG(x) is not planned to be completed until 2028, Burke 3 is also slowly building 1.5 ships a year.
Coupled with the failure of the Littoral Combat Ship and Zumwalt ship projects, the overall aging of the ships of the US Navy is serious.
Therefore, the introduction of Italian-designed Constellation-class frigates was originally intended to quickly replenish the number of ships.
But if this rate continues, the Constellation-class frigates will not be able to offset the aging rate of US ships, and it will be inevitable that the number of US Navy ships will drop below 290.
In the past, when we compared the Chinese and American navies, we often mentioned "variables".
The strength of the US Navy is based on stock, while the strength of the Chinese Navy is based on a variable - our strong shipbuilding industry.
For the United States, a "century-old navy" may be common knowledge, but the speed of China's navy's rise has changed dramatically in a decade.
Speaking of which, looking back at the repeated postponement of the Constellation-class frigate manufacturing program in the United States, it can be seen that the old problems of the Americans have not changed at all.
The demand side of the military is ambitious, while the shipbuilding industry's supply chain crisis and labor shortages have been slow to solve. These two problems are the inevitable result of the hollowing out of the manufacturing industry in American society.
If the Americans were realistic, they could have entrusted the construction of Constellation-class frigates to Italy, Japan or South Korea.
With the model of commissioned production, as long as there is money, the production speed and procurement cost of warships are controllable.
But the problem is that U.S. laws limit the possibility of foreign procurement of warships, which almost sets the fate of the Constellation-class frigates to the high cost and continuous delay.
The value of corvettes lies in the low cost of procurement, the short procurement cycle, and the low cost of use.
According to these standards, is there still a need to continue to purchase Constellation-class frigates?
If in the end the performance is not advanced, the price is ridiculously high, and the progress is ridiculously slow, then we can only laugh.
Because this one is really hilarious.