However, there is still a lack of design for the new "Small Surface Combatants" (I don't care if they are called "frigates", "LCSs" or anything else).

Developments over the last few decades have demonstrated that small vessels without proper air defence (including defence against missiles and drones) are easily destroyed. This was first demonstrated by missile-armed helicopters in 1991, and has been demonstrated again recently by Ukraine in the Black Sea.

This requires a ship with the proper sensors and sufficient size to carry different layers of air defence, as well as powerful engines to generate enough power for future laser and railguns. It should also be able to control and launch different unmanned drones. Will that be a small, cheap ship? I am not sure. For example, the Japanese Mogami class displaces 5,500 tonnes, the next class 6,200 tonnes, and the Singaporean Victory class MRCV 8,000 tonnes.

Using modern shipbuilding methods would certainly help to reduce costs. It would also have been cheaper to buy a design and build it as is, rather than changing it to a completely different class.

But now, a new design for a new purpose will be developed — hopefully a general-purpose design that will be more useful than overly specialised designs such as the LCS. Otherwise, it will likely the next failed design, stopped by the next government...