The 46 Knox-class frigates were the largest, last, and most numerous of the US Navy's second-generation anti-submarine warfare (ASW) escorts.

None of the ships served more than 23 years in the US Navy, and by 1994, all of the class had been retired, although some remain in service with foreign nations such as Egypt, Taiwan, Thailand, and Mexico.

[3] The design soon ran into problems however, with the US Navy deciding to switch to conventional 1,200 psi (8,300 kPa) boilers, requiring a redesign, and the ships became longer and heavier in order to accommodate the less compact power plants.

[4][5] The steam plant for these ships consists of two Combustion Engineering or Babcock & Wilcox "D" type boilers, each equipped with a high-pressure (supercharger) forced draught air supply system, with a plant working pressure of 1,200 psi (8,300 kPa) and 1,000 °F (538 °C) superheat and rated at 35,000 shp (26,000 kW) driving a single screw.

[5][8][9] An eight-round ASROC launcher (with 16 missiles carried) was fitted between the gun turret and the bridge, backed up by four fixed 12.75 in (324 mm) Mark 32 anti-submarine torpedo tubes.

[4] These ships were built on a production line, with prefabricated modules being assembled upside down, welded together and then rotated into an upright position.

[11] The lead ship of the class, Knox (FF-1052), was laid down 5 October 1965, and commissioned 12 April 1969, at the Todd Shipyards in Seattle, Washington.

The modification heightened the bow section, adding bulwarks and spray strakes to prevent burrowing into on-coming seas and to better protect the forecastle armament.

The IVDS could take advantage of water layer temperature conditions in close-range (less than 20,000 yd (18,290 m)) submarine detection, tracking and fire-control.

[16] Most ships were refitted with a 20 mm (0.79 in) Phalanx CIWS aft during the 1980s, replacing the Sea Sparrow launcher.

[20] Regarding to the outdated battle system onboard and the ageing ships, the class is expected to be replaced by the newly built Taiwanese Light Frigate.