A Taiwan-made Yushan landing platform dock (LPD) is scheduled to be delivered to the navy as early as September if its soon-to-be-launched sea trial proves to be a success, a military source said yesterday.
The 10,600-tonne amphibious multimission vessel is currently docked at a military port undergoing tests to make sure all the newly installed systems work smoothly, the source said, without naming the port.
After completing the static tests, the vessel would then conduct a sea trial to make sure the domestically built LPD can operate safely, the source added.
Photo: CNA
If the sea trial is successful, the vessel could be delivered to the navy in September at the earliest, the source said.
The source also confirmed a report yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) which gave an update on the status of the domestic LPD program.
Christened and launched in April last year, the Yushan is the first of four indigenous LPDs being built by local shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船) for the navy, but it has yet to be handed over to the military as testing continues.
Once in service, the Yushan, named after Taiwan’s highest peak, would replace the Hsu Hai dock landing ship, which first entered into service with the US Navy as the USS Pensacola in 1971, before being transferred to Taiwan in 1999.
The ship, which is 153m by 23m, has a top speed of 21 knots and a range of 11,265km. It is able to carry several AAV7 amphibious armed personnel carriers and 673 troops.
It can also be fitted with an MK-75 76mm gun, two MK-15 Phalanx close-in weapons systems and two TC-2N missile systems.
The ship has two hangars able to accommodate helicopters.
It would be responsible for transporting supplies and personnel to the nation’s outlying islands, as well as joining humanitarian assistance missions in emergencies, the military said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS