the USS Stark deployment is the last for Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates . Perry-class frigates have been in the U.S. Navy for the 1980s . In the 1980s , attacks nearly sank two Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates in Central and South America . When the USS Kauffman steamed out of Norfolk Naval Station earlier this month , it marked the beginning of the end for an entire class of vessels in the U.S. Navy . the U.S. Navy secretary says littoral combat ships will be the new frigates .
the USS Stark deployment is the last for Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates . Perry-class frigates have been in the U.S. Navy for the 1980s . In the 1980s , attacks nearly sank two Oliver Hazard Perry -class frigates in Central and South America . the U.S. Navy secretary says littoral combat ships will be the new frigates .