Sixteen Mark 41 cells are judged inadequate for the desired defensive depth, even with four Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles in each cell. The suggested minimum is thirty-two cells, with a preference for sixty-four and about twenty-four of those carrying quad-packed ESSM while the rest carry Standard missiles. The historical comparison is Australia's use of both Bathurst-class corvettes and Tribal-class destroyers. A Bathurst could not perform every Tribal role, while assigning a Tribal to the corvette's work could waste a much more capable ship. The comparison questions whether one cheap frigate design can meet such different demands economically.
Notable Point · 1:20:03-1:21:30
Why sixteen missile cells leave doubts about Australia's frigate requirement
The December 2024 discussion calls for greater missile capacity and uses the Bathurst and Tribal classes to explain why an inexpensive general-purpose ship cannot cover every fleet role.