Although the Royal Navy has used various bridge designs during the past 20 years it has chosen a readily recognizable layout for its Type 23 frigate. This conservatism is not the result of a wilful disregard for changes being made elsewhere in the marine world but arises from the particular requirements of a warship's bridge and considerable differences in manning. The most significant changes to layout, in recent years, have been the siting of the quartermaster on the bridge, the introduction of the versatile console system (vcs) of instrument display, the provision of engine controls at the quartermaster's console and the siting of a radar display at the bridge front.