Constellation and the US Navy's frigate dilemma

What does the 7,800-ton Constellation class use its size for, and what should a US frigate be?

It carries substantial redundancy for global service, but the ideal frigate remains a simple, affordable, numerous workhorse rather than a miniature top-end destroyer.

Redundancy accounts for part of Constellation's size, as does the US requirement to deploy conventional power worldwide. The design sits between the Type 31 and Type 26 in concept, but the harder question is what an American frigate should be. The Littoral Combat Ship pursued a high-technology answer, while the new programme risks turning the frigate into another premium combatant. The Oliver Hazard Perry class, First World War sloops, Flower-class corvettes, and sailing frigates offer a different lineage: functional ships built in quantity for presence and routine work. Their strength comes from fleet scale. Several adequate hulls can cover commitments that one individually superior ship cannot. That workhorse role resembles a wheeled armoured personnel carrier, whose value also depends on affordable numbers.