The navy’s initial fleet of domestic Kuang Hua VI-class (光華六號) missile boats were put into service yesterday at a Kaohsiung naval base.
Presiding over the launch ceremony at Zuoying Naval Base, Chief of General Staff Lin Chen-yi (林鎮夷) said the fleet’s 12 missile craft would boost the navy’s defense capability.
Each missile craft can carry up to four Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles, which have a range of 150km, making them far superior to the existing Hai Ou (Seagull)-class missile boats, which carry only two Hsiung Fung I missiles.
PHOTO: NICKY LOH, REUTERS
The Navy said the new boats, 34m long and 7.6m wide, with a top speed of 61kph, are equipped with advanced radar and electronics systems and have stealth capability to help them avoid radar detection.
However, it did not provide any details about how the vessels’ shape or surface materials allowed them to have these capabilities.
The Kuang Hua VI project was first unveiled in 1996 to replace the Seagull-class missile boats.
Under the Kuang Hua VI plan, a total of 30 vessels will be handed over to the Navy by the end of next year.
The boats are said to cost around NT$400 million (US$12.29 million) each.
The contract to produce 30 Kuang Hua VI missile boats was awarded to CSBC Corp, Taiwan, in 2003.
On Sept. 25, 2008, the prototype of the fast-attack missile boat ran aground in bad weather. The 14 crewmen on board were rescued shortly after the mishap.
On Oct. 10 that year, a Navy salvage team used two giant cranes to pull the boat out of shallow water and towed it to Chiayi County’s Budai Harbor (布袋) for preliminary repairs.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
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