My apologies for a spot of tunnel vision there. Yes newer ships are much more capable but in Britains case the numbers are getting dangerously low, and replacing 12 type 42s with possibly only six type 45s is not a good idea as those six ships cannot be in as many places as the 12 they replace, no matter how good they are. At the time of the Falklands war the RN had about 55 Destroyers and Frigates in service, whereas now it has 8 type 42 DDGs, 4 type 22 FFGs and 13 type 23 FFGS, 25 total. Simply not enough to meet requirements/ commitments even by the British Governments own statements.
The RNs Amphibious forces may have been built up to a capable force level in recent years but the escort forces have suffered in return and the CVF program is being allowed to slip too, not to mention the bulk of the RFAs fleet of tankers and supply ships are overdue for replacement, and this is a dangerous situation that should be addressed by the UK Government soon.
