1. Development

2. Design

3. Ships of class

4. See also

5. References

6. External links

                              *CS/SPG-6N(S) 2D Surface Search Radar                              *CS/SPG-6N(T) Fire Control Radar                              *Variable Depth Sonar

                              *8 × Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missile                              *1 × Otobreda 76 mm                              *1 × Phalanx CIWS                              *2 × 12.7mm Browning M2HB                              *2 × Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes (one port and one starboard)[4]

The Tuo Chiang-class corvette ({{zh|t=沱江|l=Tuo River}}) is a class of stealth multi-mission corvettes operated by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy. The ship incorporates various stealth ship features to have a lower cross-section and avoid radar detection.^[5][6][7] Developed under the Hsun Hai ({{zh|t=迅海|l=Swift Sea}}) program, these corvettes are intended to take over some of the missions currently undertaken by larger ships.

Development

The program was announced by the Republic of China (Taiwan) Ministry of National Defense (MND) on 12 April 2010. It was developed by the Naval Shipbuilding Center in Kaohsiung,^[8] The Tuo Chiang class was developed to address common weaknesses of traditional small warships such as patrol craft and corvettes, namely poor sea-keeping, a significant handicap for warships expected to sortie for extended periods of time in rough seas around Taiwan, and limited usefulness under high-intensity conflict scenarios.

In 2011, the Taiwanese Legislative Yuan approved a NT$24.98 billion (US$853.4 million) budget to fund the construction of up to 12 ships.^[9] On 18 April 2011 a top military officer and a lawmaker announced that the construction of a 500-ton prototype would begin in 2012. In the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in 2013, the Navy unveiled a model of the Hsun Hai project corvette. The prototype of the Hsun Hai program was named and christened on Friday, 14 March 2014 as ROCS Tuo Chiang (PG-618) in honor of the gunboat that was a combatant in the 9-2 Sea Battle during Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.^[10]

In early 2016, the ROC Navy began plans for procuring three air defense frigates. It has been speculated that these frigates would possibly be catamarans based on the Tuo River-class hull. Expected weapon systems include the Mark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) equipped with a naval variant of the Sky Bow III and the Sky Sword II, possibly quad-packed in the VLS cells, as well as the Sea Oryx self-defense missile.^[11] The Sky Bow III system has a dual role of anti-aircraft warfare and ballistic missile defense.^[12] This speculation persisted until TADTE 2017, where it is revealed that the ROCN has chosen the traditional mono-hull configuration for their next generation primary surface combatant designs (including a general-purpose frigate design and an air defense destroyer concept) although it remains all but certain that the Sky Bow III and the Sky Sword II will be utilized to arm these next-generation warships.^[13]

Design

The ship is a catamaran design which is {{convert|60.4|m|ft}} long, {{convert|14|m|ft}} wide and carries a crew of 41 personnel. It is capable of a maximum speed of 40 knots, and a range of {{convert|2,000|nmi|lk=in}} at lower speeds. It is armed with four modular missile container bays (each can carry a quad box container for the subsonic Hsiung Feng II, the supersonic Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles, or, in the future, Sky Sword II anti-aircraft missiles, with the standard loadout being eight HF-2 and eight HF-3 missiles), a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, and a {{convert|76|mm|in|abbr=on|0}} main gun.^[8] The ship can operate up to sea state 7 in waves up to {{convert|20|-|30|ft|m|abbr=on}} high.^[4] Taiwan Security Analysis Center (TAISAC) stated that the ship features stealth technologies to help evade radar detection, a combat system that includes a distributed-architecture combat direction system developed by the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology and an indigenous search/track and fire-control radar and electro-optical director.^{[14][15][16][17]}

The ship has been criticized for its lack of air defense armament even though the presence of a Phalanx CIWS onboard already represents an improvement over the Ching Chiang-class patrol ships (which is solely reliant on a forward-mounted 76mm gun) that it and its mass-production follow-ons are meant to supplement and eventually supplant; it does have survivability due to its stealth technology and low radar cross section (RCS), which makes it difficult to observe via radar and making the ship even more obscure when operating closer to the coastline.^[18]

Ships of class

Eleven more ships of the class are currently planned for construction. The follow-on ships are expected to have a lengthened hull to improve buoyancy and be equipped with 3D search radar and naval version of the Tien Chien II SAM in order to strengthen air defense, resulting in increased displacement by 100 tonnes over that of the prototype ship.^[19]

See also

• Type 022 missile boat

References

External links

• Hsun Hai (Swift Sea) Tuo Jiang - missile corvette - Globalsecurity
• ‘Carrier-killer’ starts trials - Taipei Times
• Fast-attack boat efficacy questioned - Taipei Times
• [https://news.usni.org/2016/03/25/taiwan-navy-emphasizing-domestic-shipbuilding-program-in-ongoing-maritime-restructure Taiwan Navy Emphasizing Domestic Shipbuilding Program in Ongoing Maritime Restructure - USNI News]
• The End of the Flimsy Surface Ship Navy is Here - Combat Reform
• [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-taiwan-usa-arms-idUSTP4108620070806 Taiwan seeking Aegis destroyers from U.S.: report - Reuters]
• Absalon Class Littoral Support Ships - Defense Media Network
• Why Taiwan Needs Submarines - The Heritage Foundation
• Lung Teh shipyard specifications

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