Axe bows should be used for the navy’s next-generation 6,500-tonne destroyers, a study recommended.
An unclassified abstract uploaded to the Government Research Bulletin this month showed that National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) conducted the research from April last year through last month.
The Government Research Bulletin is a Web site that manages research conducted by Control Yuan-affiliated agencies.
Photo: Taipei Times
The study used ship models at the university’s towing tank to compare conventional, axe and wave-piercing bows in terms of their ability to lower resistance, and their seaworthiness and sonar dome noise reduction at varying speeds, the abstract said.
The data are to be combined with flow simulations in follow-up studies to inform the design of the destroyers, it said.
Conventional bows are slightly better than axe bows and significantly superior to wave-piercing hulls in cutting resistance, it said.
The three bow types are equally seaworthy at low speeds, but conventional, axe and wave-piercing bows ranked first, second and third respectively in high-speed seaworthiness, with wave-piercing bows the worst due to a tendency to cause the deck to take on water, it said.
Axe bows are significantly better than the other types in reducing noise around the sonar dome, the researchers added.
NCKU researchers found that axe bows are the best compromise of lowering resistance, seaworthiness and noise reduction for destroyers, it said.
A defense official speaking on condition of anonymity previously said that the planned destroyers were projected to have a displacement of 6,000 tonnes to 8,000 tonnes and would be equipped with a battle management system equivalent to the US-designed Aegis system.
That would mean Taiwan’s next generation of principal surface combatants, if they are built, would be about the size of Norway’s Fridtjof Nansen-class or Spain’s Alvaro de Bazan-class frigates, the official said.
On Jan. 16, Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Co conducted a ceremony presided over by Commander of the Navy Admiral Tang Hua (唐華) to mark the beginning of work on a 2,500-tonne light anti-submarine frigate at the firm’s Kaohsiung shipyards.
The light frigates were conceived as an alternative to the 4,500-tonne guided missile frigates, development of which has stalled amid a clash of vision between the Navy Command Headquarters and the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
Production of a sister ship configured for air defense was initiated in November last year.
Both types would be equipped with Hai Chien II air defense missiles, Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles and Artisan phased array 3D radar systems developed by BAE systems, the source said.
The anti-submarine warfare variant would have in addition to the other features an advanced active and passive towed sonar system manufactured by a classified source, they said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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