Uncrewed escorts inherit small-escort logic

Large uncrewed surface vessels, including designs around 1,000 tons, could take over the roles of the smaller Second World War escorts: sloops, frigates, corvettes, and destroyer escorts. The expectation is that they will supply the numerous hulls needed in task groups. Modern frigates and destroyers have grown into anti-submarine and air-defence cruisers because they must also conduct cruising, diplomacy, and presence missions in peacetime. Those expectations require size, internal space, visible status, capability, and firepower. Each generation asks ships to do more, increasing the space needed to accommodate their equipment and missions.