Navy takes delivery of last new Perry-class missile frigate

The navy took delivery of a new Perry-class missile frigate from the Kaohsiung-based China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC) yesterday.

Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) presided over the delivery ceremony held at the company's Kaohsiung shipyard.

During the ceremony, CSBC chairman Hsu Chiang (徐強) handed over a scaled-down replica of the new frigate, christened the Tien Tan, to navy Commander-in-Chief Admiral Miao Yung-ching (苗永慶) to symbolize the delivery.

Naval officers then hoisted the national flag on the ship and decorated it with the navy's emblem to mark the commissioning of the frigate.

The new warship is named after Tien Tan, a general during the Warring States period (475BC to 221BC).

The Tien Tan is the eighth and last Perry-class frigate that CSCB had been commissioned to build for the navy under a fleet-modernization program launched in the early 1990s.

Lu said the smooth completion of the frigate construction program marks a remarkable achievement in the pursuit of self-reliance and self-sufficiency in national defense.

"I'm convinced that the addition of the Tien Tan to the naval fleet will beef up the navy's defense capabilities to ensure stability and security in the Taiwan Strait," Lu said.

Hsu said the CSBC signed a contract with the navy in August 2000 to build the Tien Tan and that construction had proceeded smoothly since it began in February, 2001.

The 3,447 tonne Perry-class frigate is armed with many sophisticated weapons, including an advanced radar system, torpedoes, depth charges and Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles. It can also be equipped with two anti-submarine helicopters.

The seven CSBC-built Perry-class frigates are the backbone of the navy's second-generation fleet.