"Maritime forces face a myriad of threats in the above-water battle space, and the propensity for operations in the congested littoral environment serves only to complicate matters. The end of the Cold War, and the strategic shift towards expeditionary operations in littoral waters has not diminished the need for warships to have an effective defensive capability against a range of above-water threats. But the environment in which maritime forces are required to operate, and the threats that they must counter, has changed substantially."