Bryan Clark, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, told ITN the Navy is setting a low bar for the FFG(X)'s mission and the mission systems it will carry.
"They are clearly concerned about the cost of the ship, so the minimum capabilities it would have are for surface warfare and ISR as part of Distributed Maritime Operations," Clark wrote in a July 12 email. "Capabilities for ASW, which was originally intended to be a mission of the LCS-based FF, are now in 'Tier 2,' or second priority to SUW capabilities."
Clark notes a missile launcher to support an area air defense interceptor is not included in any tier outlined in the RFI. The FFG(X) will be outfitted with a SPY-6 derived radar similar to the John F. Kennedy (CVN-79). The new ship class will also be equipped with the Aegis Combat System, which can provide remote targets for anti-air operations by other Aegis ships.
FFG(X) will have the Surface Electronics Warfare Improvement Program Block II, which will allow the ship to provide passive targets to its own over-the-horizon missile or to an over-the-horizon shooter. The new ship class is also being designed to host unmanned systems that could act as remote sensors or conduct counterintelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as part of distributed maritime operations, according to Clark.
"The FFG(X) is intended in part to take over low-end missions that DDGs and [cruisers] are doing today, because the Navy has only about half the small surface combatants it says it needs," Clark wrote. "The problem with that focus is as more places become contested environments, such as the Middle East, South China Sea, and Baltic Sea, the Navy will need ships that are able to protect themselves against larger and more capable attacks as well as protect non-combatant ships from air attack."
In the 2020s, ships built during the Reagan-era build-up will retire, and the Navy may not be able to afford to use destroyers to escort civilian and non-combatant ships -- or FFG(X)s -- in high-threat environments, according to Clark.