The navy is considering buying retired Spruance-class destroyers from the US to replace its Knox-class frigates for anti-submarine warfare (ASW), defense sources said yesterday.
The plan is very likely to materialize because the US navy has retired most of its Spruance-class destroyers in recent years and they have been made available for use by other countries.
The Spruance-class destroyer, which uses the same hull as the Kidd-class destroyer, is expected to replace the Knox-class frigates for ASW. Both the Spruance and Kidd have a displacement of nearly 9,000 tonnes.
The navy has a total of eight Knox-class frigates, which have been in use since 1992. After serving for over 10 years, they are no longer capable of sustaining a heavy workload. The ships had been in use in the US navy for around two decades before they were delivered to Taiwan on a lease contract before they were bought by the navy.
Despite being in bad condition, the Knox ships are still the navy's most powerful ASW platforms.
The navy has yet to make a final decision on the purchase of the Spruance-class destroyers since there are still different opinions within the service on the matter.
Not all naval leaders are in support of the plan to buy the Spruance frigates. One group of flag officers argues that the navy more urgently needs smaller warships with a displacement of 2,000 tonnes or lower. For more than a decade, the navy has been thinking of purchasing smaller warships to establish a high-low mixed-force structure, that is, a combination of larger and smaller warships to cover a wide range of combat duties.
But if the Spruance purchase plan is passed, the navy's dream of having smaller warships would once again be denied.
Retired Vice Admiral Lan Ling-li (
"The Spruance has the most powerful ASW equipment. It has the same hull as the Kidd. The navy's plans for four Kidds, which are to be delivered in the next few years, are to use them mainly for air defense," Lan said.
"But the Spruance frigates will play the leading role in ASW. Besides being powerful in ASW, the Spruance is also large enough to accommodate equipment to be removed from the Knox ships after their retirement," he said.
Erich Shih (
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