Why US frigate requirements grow toward a destroyer

Is the US Navy asking for a frigate that is really a modernized Spruance-class destroyer?

The panel considers the requirements closer to a large, complex Spruance-sized combatant, while arguing that fleet numbers call for something closer to a modern Oliver Hazard Perry.

The US Navy's desired frigate is described as drifting toward a modernized Spruance, while the numerical requirement is judged closer to a new Oliver Hazard Perry. Dr. Clarke recounts procurement discussions in which advanced sensors were justified as necessary for survivability, while an additional close-in weapon system was rejected as too expensive. His criticism concerns a preference for having one example of each system over adding redundancy. The subsequent panel exchange challenges the legal assumptions attributed to procurement staff, so the account should be read as a reported institutional concern.