A modern third rate as a 16,000-ton Type 83

What would a modern equivalent of an Age of Sail third-rate ship of the line look like?

The answer proposes a roughly 16,000-ton Type 83-style cruiser with extensive missile capacity, helicopters, two forward 5-inch guns, 57 mm mounts, 40 mm guns, and Phalanx defenses.

The answer first maps current 8,000-ton frigates and larger destroyers onto lower historical rates, then places the modern third rate around 16,000 tons. The resulting ship is a missile-heavy cruiser with aviation facilities and a layered gun battery rather than a literal sailing-ship replica. The exercise is useful because it connects historical force hierarchy to a modern fleet's need for a substantial but not supreme combatant.