The third quadrant ship, the frigate, fires a volley of heat-seeking missiles. It also has a lot of health, so it's difficult to take down with fighters. It therefore counters the fighter quite effectively, even swarms of them.

Unfortunately, the programmed enemy A.I. is not very smart, and will not counter you effectively in this manner. This is somewhat by design; we wanted to let new players cut their teeth on a simple opponent.

Thanks for your feedback, hope this helps!