The navy on Monday held a launch ceremony in Yilan County for its fifth domestically built Tuo Chiang-class corvette, officially christening it the An Chiang (安江), a military source with knowledge of the matter said on Wednesday.
The navy would soon take delivery of the fifth homemade vessel after it is tested by Lungteh Shipbuilding Co, the source said, adding that the ship was named after the Annong River (安農溪) in Yilan.
A prototype of the Tuo Chiang-class corvette, the PGG-618, was commissioned in 2015.
Photo: CNA
The first completed corvette, the Ta Chiang (塔江), was launched in December 2020.
The second Tuo Chiang-class ship, the Fu Chiang (富江), was launched in September last year, while the third, the Hsu Chiang (旭江), was launched in February, and the fourth, the Wu Chiang (武江), was launched in June.
The navy is to build 11 corvettes by the end of 2026.
The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes are fitted with subsonic Hsiung Feng-II (HF-2) missiles, supersonic Hsiung Feng-III (HF-3) anti-ship missiles, a 76mm cannon and Sea Sword II carrier-based medium-range air defense missiles, giving them the ability to hit air and sea targets simultaneously.
Based on a recent Ministry of National Defense report presented to the Legislative Yuan, aside from the prototype, five of the corvettes are to be fitted with eight subsonic HF-2 missiles and four supersonic HF-3 anti-ship missiles, while the other five warships are to come with four HF-2s and eight HF-3s.
That configuration would help meet the operational needs of the navy, the report said.
Eight Chinese naval vessels and 24 military aircraft were detected crossing the median line of the Taiwan Strait between 6am yesterday and 6am today, the Ministry of National Defense said this morning. The aircraft entered Taiwan’s northern, central, southwestern and eastern air defense identification zones, the ministry said. The armed forces responded with mission aircraft, naval vessels and shore-based missile systems to closely monitor the situation, it added. Eight naval vessels, one official ship and 36 aircraft sorties were spotted in total, the ministry said.
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