Modern FREMMs exceed the size and capability associated with wartime or early Cold War frigates. Defining a frigate by one principal mission offers a useful starting point. General-purpose variants with land-attack weapons immediately complicate that rule because their capabilities are spread across several tasks. Navies still call those ships frigates. Design emphasis can help explain a category without overriding national terminology.
Notable Point · 58:25-59:43
General-purpose FREMMs complicate the single-mission definition
Modern frigates retain their name even when they combine broad combat functions and land-attack capability.