A Taiwan-made Yushan landing platform dock (LPD) is scheduled to be delivered to the navy as early as September if its soon-to-be-launched sea trial proves to be a success, a military source said yesterday.
The 10,600-tonne amphibious multimission vessel is currently docked at a military port undergoing tests to make sure all the newly installed systems work smoothly, the source said, without naming the port.
After completing the static tests, the vessel would then conduct a sea trial to make sure the domestically built LPD can operate safely, the source added.
Photo: CNA
If the sea trial is successful, the vessel could be delivered to the navy in September at the earliest, the source said.
The source also confirmed a report yesterday by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the sister paper of the Taipei Times) which gave an update on the status of the domestic LPD program.
Christened and launched in April last year, the Yushan is the first of four indigenous LPDs being built by local shipbuilder CSBC Corp, Taiwan (台船) for the navy, but it has yet to be handed over to the military as testing continues.
Once in service, the Yushan, named after Taiwan’s highest peak, would replace the Hsu Hai dock landing ship, which first entered into service with the US Navy as the USS Pensacola in 1971, before being transferred to Taiwan in 1999.
The ship, which is 153m by 23m, has a top speed of 21 knots and a range of 11,265km. It is able to carry several AAV7 amphibious armed personnel carriers and 673 troops.
It can also be fitted with an MK-75 76mm gun, two MK-15 Phalanx close-in weapons systems and two TC-2N missile systems.
The ship has two hangars able to accommodate helicopters.
It would be responsible for transporting supplies and personnel to the nation’s outlying islands, as well as joining humanitarian assistance missions in emergencies, the military said.
PLA MANEUVERS: Although Beijing has yet to formally announce military drills, its coast guard vessels have been spotted near and around Taiwan since Friday The Taiwanese military is on high alert and is closely monitoring the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) air and naval deployments after Beijing yesterday reserved seven airspace areas east of its Zhejiang and Fujian provinces through Wednesday. Beijing’s action was perceived as a precursor to a potential third “Joint Sword” military exercise, which national security experts said the PLA could launch following President William Lai’s (賴清德) state visits to the nation’s three Pacific allies and stopovers in Hawaii and Guam last week. Unlike the Joint Sword military exercises in May and October, when Beijing provided detailed information about the affected areas, it
CHINA: The activities come amid speculation that Beijing might launch military exercises in response to Lai’s recent visit to Pacific allies The Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday said China had nearly doubled the number of its warships operating around the nation in the previous 24 hours, ahead of what security sources expect would be a new round of war games. China’s military activities come amid speculation Beijing might organize military drills around the nation in response to President William Lai’s (賴清德) recent visit to Pacific allies, including stops in Hawaii and Guam, a US territory. Lai returned from the week-long trip on Friday night. Beijing has held two rounds of war games around Taiwan this year, and sends ships and military planes
Five flights have been arranged to help nearly 2,000 Taiwanese tourists return home from Okinawa after being stranded due to cruise ship maintenance issues, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications announced yesterday. China Airlines Ltd (中華航空), and EVA Airways Corp (長榮航空) have arranged five flights with a total of 748 additional seats to transport 1,857 passengers from the MSC Bellissima back to Taiwan, the ministry said. The flights have been scheduled for yesterday and today by the Civil Aviation Administration, with the cruise operator covering all associated costs. The MSC Bellissima, carrying 4,341 passengers, departed from Keelung on Wednesday last week for Okinawa,
US president-elect Donald Trump said he would “never say” if Washington is committed to defending Taiwan from China, but “I would prefer that they do not do it [ an attack],” adding that he has a “good relationship” with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). “I never say because I have to negotiate things, right?” Trump said in an interview with NBC’s Meet the Press host Kristen Welker after saying he would not reveal his incoming administration’s stance on Taiwan’s defense in the event of an attack. Asked the question again, Trump, in a reference to China, said: “I would prefer that they
RSS