The Type 23s were procured as light frigates within a fleet that would also have Type 22s, Type 42s, and their replacements. That wider force would have shared deployments and reduced the continuous demands placed on each frigate. Removing destroyer hulls transferred part of their workload to the frigate force as well as to the remaining destroyers. Type 23s and their crews have handled that service impressively, but such sustained use exceeded the original expectation. Type 31's Danish design ancestry offers a comparison, with the hope that the new ships have been built for similarly heavy employment.
Notable Point · 1:33:24-1:34:41
Fewer destroyers also increased the burden on Type 23 frigates
Cutting destroyer hulls transferred duties to Type 23s, which had been planned as light frigates within a larger escort fleet.