The navy next month is expected to commission into service two more domestically built Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes, a source said yesterday.
The Hsu Chiang (旭江, PGG-621) and the Wu Chiang (武江, PGG-623) would be officially commissioned in a ceremony early next month, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The corvettes, launched in February and June last year respectively, were delivered to the navy in February. They are the third and fourth Tuo Chiang-class stealth missile corvettes to be produced.
Photo: CNA
The Tuo Chiang-class corvette is a domestically designed and manufactured class of fast and stealthy multipurpose corvette built for the navy.
In addition to the prototype — the Tuo Chiang (沱江, PGG-618), which was commissioned in 2015 — the first batch consists of six corvettes, with the fifth and sixth, the An Chiang (安江, PGG-625) and Wan Chiang (萬江, PGG-626), set to be delivered to the navy soon, the source said.
The navy is to receive 11 Tuo Chiang-class corvettes by the end of 2026.
The Tuo Chiang-class corvette, which has a wave-piercing catamaran design and is 60.4m long and 14m wide, has a top speed of 30 knots (55.6kph) and a range of 1,800 nautical miles (3,334km), the navy says.
The corvette is fitted with subsonic Hsiung Feng II (雄風二, “Brave Wind II”) missiles, supersonic Hsiung Feng III (雄風三, “Brave Wind III”) anti-ship missiles, a 76mm cannon and Hai Chien II (海劍二, “Sea Sword II”) carrier-based medium-range air defense missiles, enabling it to hit air and sea targets simultaneously, the navy says.
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