By the 1980s, most of these destroyers and frigates had been in service for over 35 years. (In general, the service life of a combat vessel is about 25 years.) They could no longer handle the rigors of naval operations such as being on station, patrol, or escort. Therefore, a naval modernization program was begun.
到了一九八○年代，這些艦艇使用的年代大多已超過了三十五年（一般使用年限為二十五年），無論海上偵巡、哨戒、護航，都已不堪擔負重任，於是海軍便開始了兵力更新計畫，也就是大家習稱的「二代艦」汰舊換新計畫。