In World War II that would have been the tonnage of a ship between a light cruiser and a heavy cruiser. But there has been grade inflation even as the high end surface ships (battleships and battle cruisers) have disappeared.
The proposed frigate's armament is significant:
Armaments: Two Oto-Breda 76mm Guns; 16-cell vertical launch; two three-tube torpedo launchers positioned both port and starboard; two Oto-Breda 25mm machine guns; two NH-90 helicopters.
This new frigate will be a capable warship that is only 20 feet shorter than our cruiser class. Although it is slower than I'd like. And I assume we'd add a short-range missile defense system (CIWS).
And remember, the Navy can't have a major warship class that is in the corvette class that can pack in a lot of weapons into a short-legged hull the way Europeans can who have their patrol areas just outside their harbor. American ships need to be able to cross oceans before they fight.
The Cyclone class--which is a real littoral combat vessel--is nice for the Persian Gulf, but they basically just stay there.
NOTE: Ouch, that first sentence was just a horror show. I really should edit before hitting publish.
