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\u003cp\u003eThe United Kingdom government recently paused and ‘rebooted’ its competition to produce a cost-effective new frigate design, the Type-31e, to meet Royal Navy requirements and – the government hopes – win new export orders. That move perhaps underscores how the global frigate market, as much as any other, is being affected by the evolution of the maritime domain, as it becomes more contested, congested and complex. This is sharpening the dilemmas for navies trying to balance the often competing requirements in their surface combatant platforms for general maritime security versus more high-end warfighting, against the backdrop of continuing pressure on resources.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt is the latest iteration of the age-old ‘quantity versus quality’ equation. It has always been a challenging calculation, only slightly relieved now by the prospect that technological development – particularly remote systems – might ease at least some of the pressures on actual platform numbers.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003ch5\u003eWorkhorse of the fleet\u003c/h5\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eDefining a frigate has always been a challenge. Down the ages, frigates have been the principal oceangoing workhorses of fleets. In the Cold War, the accent was on anti-submarine warfare (ASW) as well as general-purpose capabilities. Following the end of the Cold War, general-purpose capabilities came very much to the fore, and more high-end requirements like ASW tended to fade into the background.\u003c/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eA major global frigate procurement and recapitalisation is under way. IISS analysis and Military Balance+ data reveal nearly 50 ongoing programmes, at various stages and with a range of capabilities, involving more than 300 hulls (see Table 1). And other states are also in the early stages of considering frigate replacement programmes.\u003c/p\u003e","className":"richtext reading--content font-secondary"}), document.getElementById("react_czeIIzBQ10IDlve7Z75Q"))});
\u003cp\u003eMajor navies are investing in new high-capability frigates. But flexible and adaptable designs will also take centre stage in the years ahead, to meet changing requirements.\u003c/p\u003e
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