Type 22 frigates outgrow a single Cold War scenario

The early Type 22 was optimized for anti-submarine warfare and point defense in a North Atlantic fight dominated by submarines, bombers, and large missiles. Batch 1 therefore lacked a deck gun; beyond its escort role, Exocet supplied its main additional offensive capability. The longer Batch 2 remained similarly specialized. In that forecast, even breaking up one of the very large incoming missiles might leave enough mass to inflict serious damage, helping explain why close-in defense was not central to the early design. Falklands experience helped drive Batch 3 toward a deck gun, Goalkeeper close-in defense, and Harpoon missiles. In this assessment, the broad-beamed Batch 3 ships were well-balanced general-purpose frigates that complemented the Royal Navy's remaining Type 42 destroyers. Their evolution shows why a design that makes sense in one forecast scenario can leave a fleet poorly prepared for a different war.