October 17,2008:  Ukraine has asked the United States for some surplus Perry class frigates. The U.S. said they would think about it, as Russia has become very testy about Ukrainian attempts to join NATO. Getting American warships would not, everyone agrees, please the Russians.

The Perrys  came along in the late 1970s. They are 408 foot long, 4,200 ton warships armed with a 76mm gun, anti-ship, anti-aircraft and anti-missile missiles, as well as torpedoes, a helicopter and a crew of 176. Many of the 69 Perrys have been retired from U.S. service, and most are given to foreign navies, who are glad to have them. Currently the Ukrainian navy has two Russian built Krivak II class frigates, which are a little smaller (3,500 tons) than the Perrys, and a decade or two older in terms of technology. The Ukrainians would prefer Perrys, and have seen the Turkish ones operating in the Black Sea.