FPRI – The United States is at a point where it hasn’t designed and built a good surface escort ship since the Arleigh Burke, at a time when its navy needs more and fast. The US Navy decommissioned the last of its previous frigate class in 2015 and is already retiring some of its LCS fleet after considerable operational problems. With no obvious small surface combatant to fill this gap on the horizon, America needs to figure out a new plan before the US Navy suffers from the same want of frigates as plagued Nelson.