The panel's explanation for repairing Samuel B. Roberts

Would USS Samuel B. Roberts have been repaired after its 1988 mine damage if more Perry-class frigates had been available?

The panel expects the same outcome because it interprets the repair as political signaling. That is the explanation offered in the discussion, rather than a documented assessment of the decision.

In the counterfactual, additional Perry-class frigates test whether fleet numbers explain the decision to repair Samuel B. Roberts. The panel describes the damage as severe enough that scrapping would have been economically reasonable. Its explanation for the repair centers on a political message to Iran. On that interpretation, a larger frigate inventory would not by itself remove the reason for repairing the ship.