Originally designed as a specialist anti-submarine ship, the Type 22 frigate evolved into a powerful surfacecombatant with substantial anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons systems.
Originally designed as a specialist anti-submarine ship, the Type 22 frigates evolved into a powerful surfacecombatant with substantial anti-surface, anti-submarine and anti-aircraft weapons systems.
So while there are some things a traditional surfacecombatant would have that the new warship lacks, there are many things it might one day do that current warships cannot.
It is easily the most capable surfacecombatant ever conceived, but when the Navy saw the price-tag for the finished product it decided to buy only three rather than the 32 planned, meaning it spent billions of dollars to get to a point where it could build a mere handful of vessels.