US standards turned FREMM adaptation into a redesign

Constellation required a longer hull, larger generators, a revised bow, altered propellers, and space for US combat systems. Those changes are linked both to US standards and to a fleet with fewer large escorts available to protect a simpler frigate. A carrier group's assigned destroyers may also be detached on other missions, making nominal assignment a poor substitute for nearby support. The institutional criticism concerns continued design changes after the programme needed a stable, buildable specification. Close shipyard oversight can identify problems, but the argument here is that incentives to keep improving the design also encouraged further alteration. The proposed discipline is to make the necessary changes once and finish a ship adequate for its defined role.