The first two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates purchased by Taiwan from the US are expected to be delivered in 2015, Navy Chief of Staff Kao Tien-chung (高天忠) said yesterday.
The two warships, which cost NT$5.2 billion (US$175 million), are to replace two Knox-class frigates, whose condition is the worst in the entire fleet, Kao said during a hearing of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign and National Defense Committee.
The ships are part of an order of four Perry-class frigates that the US government has agreed to sell to Taiwan, he said.
On Wednesday, the US House Committee on Foreign Affairs unanimously agreed to introduce legislation that would authorize the sale of the four frigates — the USS Taylor (FFG-50), USS Gary (FFG-51), USS Carr (FFG-52) and USS Elrod (FFG-55) — to Taiwan.
The four warships were commissioned between 1984 and 1985 and, except for the USS Gary, which was decommissioned in March, are all in active service.
Kao added that between 2015 and 2018, Taiwan would design and build its own salvage ship prototype and another amphibious warfare ship.
The navy is also planning to buy 36 used AAV-7 assault amphibious vehicles from the US.
With its river-crossing ability, the AAV-7 will help strengthen the mobility and expeditionary capabilities of the marine corps, he said.
However, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) questioned the necessity of the purchases, given that the military already has 54 AAV-7s.
Equipped with 50-caliber machine guns and 40mm automatic grenades, the AAV-7 is not powerful enough and does not necessarily have better mobility than wheeled armored vehicles, Lin said.
He suggested that the military consider acquiring more Taiwan-made Yunpao CM-32 eight-wheeled armored vehicles to meet its needs.
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) today released images of the military tracking China’s People's Liberation Army (PLA) movements during the latest round of Chinese drills around Taiwan. The PLA began "Justice Mission 2025" drills today, carrying out live-fire drills, simulated strikes on land and maritime targets, and exercises to blockade the nation's main ports. The exercises are to continue tomorrow, with the PLA announcing sea and air space restrictions for five zones around Taiwan for 10 hours starting from 8:30am. The ministry today released images showing a Chinese J-16 fighter jet tracked by a F-16V Block 20 jet and the
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