The first of Taiwan’s five new catamaran-hulled Chiang-class Batch II corvettes has been welcomed into service.
President Lai Ching-te presided over the ceremony formally welcoming the new warship into the Republic of China Navy (ROCN) fleet at Tsoying Naval Base on Friday.
The remaining four domestically built warships, being constructed by Lungteh Shipbuilding, are scheduled to be delivered and commissioned by the end of 2026. The new warships are an upgraded version of the seven Batch I Chiang-class catamarans.
The new Batch II corvettes are the first to be fitted with air defence capabilities: they will carry 16 medium-range Sea Sword II radar-guided missiles to counter jets, drones, and incoming anti-ship missiles.
The warships will also carry a mixture of four longer-range HF-2 subsonic anti-ship missiles and eight supersonic HF-3 projectiles capable of up to Mach 3. They will also be equipped with Mark 32 Torpedoes to counter submarines.
Other weaponry includes a forward-mounted rapid-fire OTO Melara 76mm naval gun, a Mk 15 Phalanx Block 1B radar-guided Gatling gun as a Close-In Weapon System (CIWS), and two 12.7mm Browning M2HB machine guns.
The waterjet-propelled corvettes can reach a top speed of up to 45 knots and have a range of up to 2,000 nautical miles.
At the ceremony President Lai said the new vessel proved Taiwan could “independently develop, design, build, and integrate systems according to the needs of cross-strait defence and offence.”
He said it also affirmed “the Navy’s firm determination to safeguard the maritime borders and protect the nation.”
- You can read more details on the Office of the Taiwanese President’s website
