MILWAUKEE – How does the U.S. navy get their frigates? Well, somebody has to build them and one of those “somebodies” happens to be located right here in Wisconsin.
Marinette Marine, located in Marinette, Wis., has “several contracts” with U.S. government to build new frigates for the navy.
CEO Mark Vandroff joins Wisconsin’s Morning News offering insight on the new ships they’re building.
“That’s a 7-thousand-ton, multipurpose surface combat,” Vandroff says. “It’s twice the size of anything Marinette’s ever built before. We are just now finishing up the detail design of the ship. The construction started in August.”
This ship will take about 4 years to complete. Vandroff says they’ll “deliver the first one to the navy in 2026.”
Host Vince Vitrano asks Vandroff about the role evolving technology plays in building frigates.
“Technology does change over time,” Vandroff says. “But a lot about the ship is relatively constant. The science behind how steel floats in water hasn’t changed and probably isn’t going to change. We do see the navy design philosophy having evolved over the years. And especially with the Constellation-class frigate, it’s designed so that new technology can be more easily inserted with the lines of the ship.”
You can listen to the full convo at the top of the page.
