USS Congress (FFG-63)

For other ships with the same name, see USS Congress.

USS Congress (FFG-63) will be the second ship of the Constellation class of guided-missile frigates^[1] and the seventh ship in the United States Navy bearing this name.^[2][3] She is named in honor of the first USS Congress, one of the original six frigates of the United States Navy, and her name was among ten names submitted to President George Washington by Secretary of War Timothy Pickering in March 1795 for the frigates that were to be constructed.^[4][5][6]

Artist rendering of the final Constellation-class design
History
United States
Name	Congress
Namesake	USS Congress
Awarded	20 May 2021[1]
Builder	Fincantieri Marinette Marine, Marinette, Wisconsin
Identification	Hull number: FFG-63
Status	Ordered
General characteristics
Class and type	Constellation-class frigate
Displacement	7,400 short tons (6,700 t)
Length	496 ft (151.18 m)
Beam	65 ft (19.81 m)
Draft	26 ft (7.92 m)
Propulsion	CODLAG
Speed	in excess of 26 kn (48 km/h; 30 mph)
Range	6,000 nmi (11,000 km; 6,900 mi) at 16 kn (30 km/h; 18 mph) (electric drive)
Boats & landing craft carried	2 × rigid-hulled inflatable boats
Capacity	200 accommodations
Complement	140 crew
Sensors and processing systems	COMBATSS-21 Combat Management System (AEGIS derivative) AN/SPY-6(V)3 Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar (EASR) AN/SPS-73(V)18 - Next Generation Surface Search Radar AN/SLQ-61 light weight towed array sonar AN/SQS-62 Variable-Depth Sonar AN/SQQ-89F undersea warfare/anti-submarine warfare combat system Cooperative Engagement Capability
Armament	32 Mark 41 VLS cells with: Possibly RIM-162 ESSM Block 2 and/or RIM-174 Standard ERAM missiles Planned RIM-66 Standard SM-2 Block 3C 8 × or 16 × canister launched Over-the-horizon Anti-Ship Weapons (likely Naval Strike Missile) RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile launched from Mk 49 Guided Missile Launching System (21 cell) Mk 110 57mm gun with the Advanced Low Cost Munition Ordnance (ALaMO) projectile and related systems. Various machine guns M240 or M2
Aircraft carried	1 × MH-60R Seahawk helicopter MQ-8C Firescout

References

1. "Congress (FFG-63)". Naval Vessel Register. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
2. Ziezulewicz, Geoff (2 December 2020). "Navy bringing back US Atlantic Fleet". Navy Times. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
3. Trevithick, Joseph (2 December 2020). "Navy Boss Tells Congress That A New Frigate Will Be Named USS Congress. No, Really". The War Zone. The Drive. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
4. "SECNAV Names Future Guided Missile Frigate USS Congress" (Press release). United States Navy. 4 December 2020. Retrieved 4 December 2020.
5. Brodine, Charles E.; Crawford, Michael J.; Hughes, Christine F. (2007). Ironsides! the Ship, the Men and the Wars of the USS Constitution. Fireship Press. p. 8. ISBN 978-1934757147.
6. Pickering, Timothy (14 March 1795). "Letter to George Washington". Founders Online. National Archives. Retrieved 4 December 2020.

•  This article includes information collected from the Naval Vessel Register, which, as a U.S. government publication, is in the public domain. The entry can be found here.