A frigate must choose specialization or become a mini-Burke

Should the US requirement for a smaller Burke and an ASW frigate be split into separate purchases?

Specialization works only if both classes are bought in sufficient numbers; otherwise fear of missing capabilities drives the frigate back toward a mini-Burke.

The proposed division puts anti-submarine work and local air self-defence in a frigate, with area air defence assigned to destroyers. Its stated condition is that enough of both types must be bought. Fear that destroyers will be missing can instead produce demands for the frigate to handle every threat. In this interpretation, that pressure produces another smaller Burke. Mogami and an enlarged Sa'ar 6 are discussed as possible specialist choices whose priorities would still have to be accepted.