Oliver Hazard Perry-class Frigates

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class stands as a renowned lineage of guided-missile frigates, taking its name from the iconic U.S. Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, victor of the pivotal Battle of Lake Erie. Often recognized as the Perry or FFG-7 class (familiarly dubbed "fig seven"), these frigates emerged in the 1970s U.S. naval scene as cost-effective escorts, crafted to supersede World War II-era destroyers and to work alongside the Knox-class frigates of the 1960s.

As part of Admiral Elmo Zumwalt's visionary "high low fleet plan," the FFG-7s represented the fleet's lower-tier capability, while the Spruance-class destroyers were its top-tier counterparts. Originally designed to shield amphibious units, merchant convoys, and supply groups from aerial and submarine threats, these frigates later evolved roles, integrating into battleship-focused surface action groups and formidable aircraft carrier strike assemblies.

A total of 55 of these distinguished frigates were constructed in the U.S.- 51 for the U.S. Navy and four tailored for the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Internationally, Taiwan commissioned eight, Spain six, and Australia produced two for their respective naval forces. Moreover, several ex-U.S. Navy ships from this class found new homes, being sold or gifted to naval forces in Bahrain, Egypt, Poland, Pakistan, Taiwan, and Turkey.

Launching the U.S. lineage, the first Oliver Hazard Perry frigate was commissioned in 1977, with the USS Simpson marking the class's U.S. service end in September 2015. While many retired ships were preserved, others found extended service with international navies. Some, like the USS Duncan, had brief U.S. tenures, but others clocked in over three decades of service, with certain vessels seeing extended lifespans under foreign flags.