Today's high-end Arleigh Burkes started out as mid-tier combatants AFP via Getty ImagesIt has been almost thirty years since the USS Arleigh Burke (DDG 51) entered U.S. Navy service. This is a pattern that the Navy likely hopes to repeat with the newly-named Constellation (FFG 62) class guided missile frigate, which, today, is seen as a lower-cost, lower-capability surface combatant to the Burke class. Awarded to Wisconsin’s rough-and-tumble Fincantieri yard in April, the Navy seems pretty clear that the new frigate will, in time, become the mainstay of the future surface fleet. While everything looks rosy for the Constellation class right now, ship designers are doing hard work converting a contract design into a detailed, production-ready platform. Sure enough, hangar and support facilities for a rotary-wing aircraft were incorporated in Flight IIA Arleigh Burke variants.

Source: Forbes October 11, 2020 15:56 UTC