The current maritime defence sector is held back by a risk averse attitude to technology uptake. This is starting to change in the use of autonomous systems, however this is at the expense of other more wide reaching technologies. In this paper several promising technologies are applied to a frigate design dubbed E-SPARTAN, and their effect compared to a baseline frigate concept, SPARTAN. The designs are then compared across key metrics such as capability, sustainability, through life cost and stability. The technologies investigated were the large-scale adoption of composites and sustainable propulsion options based on an IFE propulsion system. Through rules based structural design the use of composites was demonstrated to save at least 50% of the structural weight in a like for like comparison, equating to up to 22% of lightship. This weight saving facilitated the increase in mass of the IFE propulsion system, in addition to a 240t battery bank to allow peak shaving and silent running. Alternative fuels were investigated and biodiesel was found to the most effective alternative fuel, increasing engine performance whilst being a sustainable product, producing low emissions and facilitating the use of MDO in operational areas where biodiesel is not available. Other commonly discussed alternatives such as batteries and hydrogen were found to require too large a storage volume and/or mass to be viable for the existing mission profile. The vessel operating costs were shown to be less than the equivalent conventional frigate, this is due to a reduction in non-attributable growth, a reduction in hull maintenance and the flexibility of upgrading an IFE solution. Overall the changes gave additional capability, with added design and operational flexibility, both key to a cost effective general purpose frigate (GPF). The structure requires less maintenance, due to a reduction in fatigue and corrosion. The build would be more technically challenging, requiring upskilling of the workforce for composite construction, however with life cycle savings circa £21.5M. The proposed changes constitute a stability improvement due to a lower center of gravity and the opportunity to locally optimize the layup and materials to improve survivability and signatures. The design provides additional capability due to signature reduction and silent running, both key for central frigate roles such as mine counter measures (MCM) and anti-submarine warfare (ASW), as well as providing additional sustainability credentials and facilitating operation in emissions controlled areas. The authors conclude that the implementation of such a radical concept would entail upskilling of the ship construction workforce, but the benefits of such a solution are seen across capability, flexibility and through life cost when considered over a class of vessels.