Why European frigates often lack ASROC

Why are rocket-delivered anti-submarine weapons uncommon in Europe, including on Type 26 plans?

European fleets expected helicopters and allied ships to deliver torpedoes, while limited VLS capacity and post-Cold War funding choices pushed ASROC down the priority list. Some ASW frigates also omitted fixed torpedo tubes under the same cost-saving logic.

European navies traditionally expected a helicopter to maintain contact and attack a submarine, or to call another helicopter if its own torpedoes were exhausted. That assumption made ship-launched ASROC appear optional during expeditionary wars with little peer undersea threat. Type 26's Mark 41 cells could support such a weapon, but fitting it competes for scarce VLS space and remains a funding decision. The same economy removed fixed torpedo tubes from some ASW frigates even though their helicopters already required compatible torpedoes.