Notable Point · 14:40-20:19

VLS and Aegis expectations raise frigate cost

Missile-system cost includes the sensors and computers behind the launchers, while the requirement tiers give radar priority over ASW sonars.

Aegis Combat System Air Defence Anti-Submarine Warfare Constellation Class Frigates Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile Frigates Mark 41 VLS Missiles Naval Procurement RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile Standard Missile

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Notes

The proposed fit includes 32 Mark 41 VLS cells for SM-2 and ESSM Block 2, a 21-cell RAM launcher, a 57 mm gun, a fixed phased-array radar, and an Aegis-derived combat system. The cost explanation emphasizes the computers and sensors that make the launchers useful, whether the ship carries a handful of cells or several dozen. Fleet-common systems can still be expensive to incorporate, so limiting new technology does not by itself guarantee a low-cost frigate. The critique also focuses on the priority tiers: the fixed radar appears in the first tier while variable-depth and towed-array sonars appear in the second. That ordering is questioned for a ship whose stated work includes anti-submarine warfare.