How Constellation lost its off-the-shelf advantage

Why did the US Navy choose a European design for Constellation, and how did that approach go wrong?

A mature FREMM derivative promised less development risk after LCS, but extensive American changes removed that advantage.

Constellation's attraction was a working European frigate that the US Navy could adapt quickly after the Littoral Combat Ship disappointed. Sal Mercogliano connects that choice to the loss of the wider surface-ship renewal plan and the continued reliance on Arleigh Burkes. The promised 85 percent commonality left only a modest American alteration, at least on paper. Survivability requirements and rearranged systems then created changes elsewhere in the hull; Alex Clarke puts the eventual commonality at about 15 percent. Construction began while the design was still unsettled, forcing building work to proceed alongside redesign. Mercogliano also questions whether the Navy had clearly defined the frigate's mission.