FREMM's general-purpose character is presented as an advantage for a US program intended to produce many frigates. Its strong ASW capability came with flexibility across other missions, rather than the more concentrated submarine-hunting design of Type 26. That tradeoff depended on obtaining both useful capability and enough ships. The competition's requirement for a built, functioning vessel also reduced dependence on unproven paper designs. The argument for FREMM rests on that combination, while leaving substantial decisions about how far to adapt it to American requirements.
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Why FREMM offered a plausible parent for a large frigate program
FREMM combined a functioning parent design with multi-mission flexibility, advantages that depended on retaining enough of the original ship.