The FFX program... What the Legend class are...

FFX's proposed presence role supports allies and addresses small problems before they demand a carrier battle group.

A 40-knot ambition and a long mission list made the Littoral Combat Ship a demanding answer to lower-end naval tasks, compounded by indecision over hull selection.

Extensive changes to Constellation weakened its commonality with the foreign frigate design chosen as its starting point.

Large Coast Guard cutters resemble the Navy's lower-end requirements, while competition for federal funding encourages sharper boundaries between the services.

Drug interdiction and other security duties consume destroyer and engine life while displacing opportunities for maintenance and training.

The 4,750-ton design is assessed as a basic presence ship, with a substantial planned class and an unsettled design for any following batch.

A Legend-derived patrol-frigate proposal combines 57 mm and 30 mm guns, a 21-cell RAM launcher and alternative missile loads, with containerized mission payloads still under discussion.

Using the Burke as a benchmark puts pressure on a smaller frigate to accommodate destroyer levels of redundancy, with corresponding pressure for hull growth.

A fictional starship comparison explains how crew numbers affect damage control and why survivability requirements must reflect a ship's mission and size.

A stated range of 12,000 nautical miles at about 15 knots supports the argument for a ship that can maintain presence and respond to maritime security problems around the world.

A small Royal Navy sloop could signal that Britain was watching a confrontation without joining it, while the fleet behind the ship discouraged an attack.

Doubts about a second FFX flight rest on a view of the US Navy as a destroyer navy whose frigate requirements reflect competing institutional pressures.

The design is classified as a light patrol frigate, with possible convoy and amphibious-group duties, an AN/SPS-77 radar and unspecified sonar options.

The Strait of Hormuz example weighs the consequences of mine risk against ship replaceability, crew numbers and the need for suitable equipment and support.