Modern escorts combine global range and broad utility with a particular specialty such as air defense or anti-submarine warfare. The Type 22 Batch 3 is presented as an early expression of this trend, followed by the Type 23, Type 45, and Type 26. Age-of-sail frigates were themselves cruising ships, so the modern global-combat-ship concept partly returns the frigate to an older function. Political labels can obscure this functional continuity between frigates, destroyers, and cruisers.
Notable Point · 13:40-14:44
Why modern escorts resemble cruisers
Type 22 Batch 3 frigates introduce an argument that long-range, general-purpose escorts perform the historic work of cruisers regardless of their labels.