Top 10 Frigates in the World in 2026

Frigates are the backbone of most navies: smaller and cheaper than destroyers, but increasingly powerful. Modern frigates hunt submarines, defend convoys against missiles and drones, and in many navies now carry long-range strike weapons too. This ranking weighs anti-submarine capability, air defense, firepower and export success.

1. Type 26 / City class (United Kingdom)

Widely seen as the world’s best anti-submarine frigate, the Type 26 is extremely quiet and carries a powerful towed sonar, Sea Ceptor air defense and a strike-length Mk 41 launcher. Australia (Hunter class) and Canada (River class) chose the design, and Norway selected it in 2025.

2. FREMM (France and Italy)

The Franco-Italian multi-mission frigate combines strong anti-submarine sensors with Aster missiles and, in French service, MdCN land-attack cruise missiles. Egypt, Morocco and Indonesia operate or have ordered versions.

3. FDI / Amiral Ronarc’h class (France)

A compact but heavily digitized frigate with a fixed-panel Sea Fire radar and Aster 30 missiles. Greece bought it as the Kimon class, making it one of Europe’s newest export successes.

4. Mogami class (Japan)

A stealthy, highly automated frigate needing a crew of only about 90. In 2025 Australia chose an upgraded Mogami for its new general-purpose frigate program, Japan’s first major warship export.

5. Admiral Gorshkov class (Russia)

Russia’s most modern frigate, armed with Kalibr and Onyx missiles and the first to carry the Zircon hypersonic cruise missile. Production has been slow, but it is the most capable surface combatant Russia is building.

6. Type 054B (China)

A larger successor to China’s numerous Type 054A, with an integrated mast, new radars and improved anti-submarine systems, entering service in 2025.

7. Iver Huitfeldt class (Denmark)

Large air defense frigates with SM-2 missiles that proved themselves in the Red Sea and are being upgraded with more missiles.

8. Nilgiri class / Project 17A (India)

India’s stealth frigates carry BrahMos and Barak-8 missiles and are built in Indian yards, with several commissioned since 2025.

9. İstif class (Türkiye)

A national design built in Turkish shipyards with Turkish radars, missiles and combat systems, and a growing export candidate.

10. De Zeven Provinciën class (Netherlands)

Air defense frigates with the APAR radar and SM-2 and ESSM missiles, among Europe’s most capable ships for ballistic missile tracking.

The trend

Frigates are getting bigger, often 6,000 to 8,000 tonnes, almost the size of yesterday’s destroyers. Navies want more missiles, better sonars and smaller crews, and the line between frigate and destroyer is fading fast.

Featured image: Saggittarius A / CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons