"They are designed to do it all," an official said. Features include anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface missile capabilities, and surface-to-air defense. As such, they "actually have a greater capacity than the Arleigh-Burkes in terms of range of capabilities," he said.
He was referring to the advanced destroyers with the sophisticated AEGIS radar and missile defense-management system, which the administration of US President George W. Bush refused to sell to Taiwan last year.
While the ships could be delivered by early next year, it would take some additional time before they could be sailed to Taiwan. Before they did, they would have to be equipped with needed armaments and the Taiwan sailors would need an extended period of time to be trained to operate the complex vessels. The equipment would include missiles, missile launchers and radar.
Also included would be two Phalanx 6mm guns firing 20mm rounds in quick succession. One US official called the capabilities "pretty impressive."
RSS