The Zhenhai Project (震海計畫) — originally designed to produce a next-generation missile frigate — is to be downgraded to a 2,000-tonne placeholder frigate, while the Ministry of National Defense continues its research and development of a next-generation 6,500-tonne mainline battleship, the ministry said yesterday.
The ministry is to allocate NT$5 million (US$163,768) from its budget for next year to commission an assessment of the resistance, seaworthiness and ability to suppress the hydrodynamic noise of a sonar dome for the three types of keels of its planned 6,500-tonne destroyer, its budget report shows.
Given that the navy’s aging fleet of destroyers and frigates are 24 years or older, replacement ships are a priority, the ministry said, adding that the Zhenhai project, with a budget of NT$24.5 billion from 2019 to 2026, has seen multiple delays.
Photo: CNA
The project has been downgraded to introduce light frigates that would “plug the hole” for the navy and prevent a gap in its fleet of ships in service, the ministry said.
Previous funding for the project will go toward the construction of two ships that are expected to be completed before 2026, the ministry said.
The project shift would swiftly introduce vessels that could assist the navy’s Tuojiang-class corvettes in providing a counterweight to Chinese military ships, which have been harassing Taiwanese vessels, it said.
However, the move does not mean the navy is abandoning the research and development of a next-generation mainline battleship, it said.
Aside from the planned assessment, the ministry in 2019 commissioned the Ship and Ocean Industries Research and Development Center to test and analyze a new ship model, and in 2020, it conducted an analysis of sonar systems on the bow of a monohull frame, and analyzed how smoothly a 2,5000-tonne wave-piercing monohull would traverse underwater.
The ministry remained tight-lipped about information on the planned mainline battleship, saying only that it would announce relevant test results in time.
The ministry’s budget report for next year also shows that the navy plans to send three representatives to the nine-day Taiwan-US Affiliate Agreement for Preliminary Exchanges on Surface Ship Designs project.
This would give the representatives the opportunity to see the latest weaponry and cutting-edge technology developed by other countries, allowing the navy to expand its roster of potential countries from which it could source equipment, as well as solicit foreign support and collaborations on ship design, the budget report says.
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