The Type 23 was a light-frigate design whose ships have remained in service far longer than originally intended. Hull wear raises the cost of operating and maintaining them. Delayed replacement therefore creates continuing costs in the fleet already in service. Three extra general-purpose Type 45s with Mark 41 VLS are proposed as a counterfactual way of relieving some of the pressure. The argument connects one truncated programme with the strain on a different ageing class.
Notable Point · 28:15-29:10
Type 23 hull wear and delayed replacement
Keeping Type 23s beyond their intended service lives shifts the cost of delayed replacement into hull maintenance and operations.