Aboard Mikasa at Yokosuka, with part of the US Seventh Fleet nearby, the discussion compares historical ship types with the work modern warships perform. In this interpretation, modern surface combatants are cruisers in the traditional sense because their normal peacetime work consists of cruising roles. Destroyer and frigate labels describe their wartime functions more closely than their everyday duties. A ship's name therefore captures only part of its employment, and older classification terms can still help explain its role.
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Modern warships as cruisers by function
Many modern surface combatants perform the traditional peacetime cruising role, while destroyer and frigate labels describe their wartime functions.