Domestic production of ships and submarines is an important force-building plan for the navy. To reinforce the navy’s strength, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Nov. 17 unveiled a plan to build an anti-air light frigate at a keel-laying ceremony in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying (左營) naval base. Six each of two types of frigates — anti-air and anti-submarine frigates — are expected to be built to boost the capacity of the existing second-rate fleet.
In recent years, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) Navy has frequently pushed close the waters east of the Taiwan Strait median line, exhausting Taiwan’s military resources. In addition, the PLA’s fleet consists of significant numbers of first-rate, second-rate and third-rate ships.
Given the degree of intimidation by the PLA, it is not cost-effective for Taiwan’s navy, which has a smaller fleet and relatively limited options regarding vessel types, to send a much larger first-rate ship to intercept the PLA’s second-rate ships.
Meanwhile, due to their smaller tonnage, it is not easy for third-rate ships to carry out long maritime operations. Building more second-rate ships is therefore a pragmatic move.
Information disclosed by the media and the military shows that the biggest highlight of the anti-air light frigate is that it is equipped with a vertical launching system that can carry 32 domestically produced TC-2N (海劍二) anti-aircraft missiles. The missiles’ excellent performance coupled with the indigenous vertical launching system makes the light frigate’s engagement speed far superior to other launching vehicles.
Vertical launching systems have become standard equipment for the capital ships of several navies, including the US Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer, the Japanese Self-Defense Forces’ Atago-class destroyer, the Republic of Korea Navy’s Sejong the Great-class destroyer and the Republic of Singapore Navy’s Formidable-class frigate. The biggest advantages of the vertical launching system are its fast engagement, zero blind spot for shooting and relatively large amounts of ammunition.
More importantly, the indigenous vertical launching system represents Taiwan’s progress in indigenous warships and its official integration with international standards.
Ray Song is a doctoral student in Tamkang University’s Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies.
Translated by Lin Lee-kai
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