During the 18th and early 19th centuries, a frigate was a sailing vessel designed for speed, with a flush gun deck carrying 24 to 44 guns, used as a commerce raider and for blockade duty. With the introduction of steam and steel warships frigates as a class of warship passed out of use until World War II when they were reintroduced by the British as an antisubmarine escort vessel larger than a corvette? but smaller than a destroyer.
United States Navy
The oldest commissioned warship in the US Navy is [USF Constitution]?, a frigate put into service in the 1790's. It is the oldest commissioned warship afloat in the world; the [HMS Victory]?, though older, is maintained in drydock.
In the United States Navy, guided missile frigates (with the FFG hull classification symbol) bring an anti-air warfare (AAW) capability to the frigate mission, but they have some limitations. Designed as cost-efficient surface combatants, they lack the multi-mission capability necessary for modern surface combatants faced with multiple, high-technology threats and offer limited capacity for growth.
In an attempt to overcome these limits and provide escorts that could keep up with nuclear-powered aircraft carriers, the US Navy commissioned several nuclear-powered frigates in the 1960s. They were far larger than any other frigates ever seen, and all were reclassified as cruisers in 1975.
Despite their limitations, the US Navy's conventionally-powered [Oliver Hazard Perry]?-class frigates are robust platforms, capable of withstanding considerable damage. This "toughness" was aptly demonstrated when USS Samuel B. Roberts struck a mine and USS Stark was hit by two Exocet? missiles. In both cases the ships survived, were repaired and returned to the fleet.
The US Navy no longer has any need for single-mission ships and there are no frigates planned for the US Navy's future.
Partially from: http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/factfile/ships/ship-ffg.html
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