What separates a light frigate from a corvette or patrol ship?

What is the difference between a light frigate, a corvette, and a patrol ship?

An OPV handles patrol duties without a frontline warfighting fit. A corvette is armed for war but intended for shorter deployments. A light frigate combines sustained deployment with combat service alongside a task group or land-based support.

The distinction used here starts with what the ship must do in wartime. A patrol ship lacks the combat fit expected of the other two categories. A corvette can fight, but its role does not call for weeks or months of distant deployment. A light frigate is the smallest combatant in this classification expected to combine that endurance with wartime operations. It is intended to work with the larger ships of a task group or within reach of land-based forces, rather than act as a detached wartime picket. Mogami illustrates the role by replacing older destroyer escorts and adding hulls to a formation.