The comparison uses 70-, 90-, and 100-percent figures as a heuristic for requirement trade-offs, not as literal performance scores. The US Navy can gain from keeping Constellation focused and buying enough hulls rather than repeating the pressure that added roles and cost to the Arleigh Burke class. The last increment between a strong 90-percent design and an all-purpose ship is particularly expensive in development and technology. Type 26 may pursue a higher proportion of possible capability, but that does not make it automatically better for a navy whose scale and force plan are different.
Chapter · 22:33-24:22
Constellation and the costly last ten percent
Constellation is presented as a deliberately limited frigate whose affordability and numbers matter more than matching every capability of a Type 26 or Arleigh Burke.