The Absalon class combines troop-ship and frigate functions, illustrating how StanFlex can serve a flexible hull. The example shown carries sixteen Harpoons. More participating countries would bring more technical debates and disagreements into a shared module program. Those negotiations could also give British ministers regular reasons to work with foreign counterparts. Cooperation inside and beyond NATO could raise the defence secretary's profile within government and make the program useful to the Royal Navy diplomatically.
Notable Point · 54:12-55:46
Absalon and the diplomatic effects of a shared module program
Absalon's mixed roles and sixteen Harpoons lead into the argument that a shared module program could create useful defence relationships as well as technical disputes.