China Has 50 Frigates: The US Navy Has Had 0 Frigates for 11 Years. 20 Were Planned and Only 2 Will Be Built

China Has 50 Frigates: The US Navy Has Had 0 Frigates for 11 Years. 20 Were Planned and Only 2 Will Be Built

The United States Navy retired its last frigate, USS Simpson, in September 2015, and has not commissioned one since. For eleven years, the fleet that practically invented the modern ocean escort has operated zero of them, while China’s navy built itself the world’s largest fleet, including roughly fifty frigates. The ship meant to end the drought was the Constellation class, a program of at least twenty vessels based on a proven European design.…