Appendix I Warships by Role

摘要

The classification of warships is almost infinitely variable. There are, for example, at least seven different definitions of frigates, destroyers, and cruisers, making a proper analysis of trends within the warship market difficult. If national definitions were to be taken at face value, the result would be inequitable and yield misleading comparisons of ships with radically different roles and operational functions. For this reason, Forecast International uses a system of definitions for warship types based primarily on the role of the ship in question. This has the added advantage of providing fewer anomalies than other classification systems.