TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes An Chiang and Wan Chiang have completed their combat readiness training and are set to be commissioned next week, a military official announced on Friday (June 28).
The ships will begin combat patrol missions after being commissioned on July 3, Liberty Times reported. They are equipped with Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles to counter Chinese naval intrusions into Taiwanese waters. Once the An Chiang and Wan Chiang are commissioned, the Navy will have seven Tuo Chiang corvettes in service.
The military previously planned to replace its aging Ching Chiang-class patrol ships on a one-for-one basis as the Tuo Chiang corvettes were commissioned. However, due to the increasing frequency of Chinese naval intrusions, the Navy has adopted a strategy of deploying one ship for each Chinese ship. Consequently, the plan for retiring the older ships will be adjusted to meet the increased operational demands.
According to the Navy's plans, the missile configuration for the second batch of five Tuo Chiang corvettes may be altered. The number of Hsiung Feng II missiles may be reduced to four, while the number of Hsiung Feng III missiles could be doubled to eight, which would significantly enhance the anti-ship capabilities of the Tuo Chiang-class ships.
