TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan Coast Guard vessels will fire Hsiung Feng-series anti-ship missiles during a joint precision munitions exercise next week to test their ability to rapidly convert from peacetime law enforcement ships into wartime combat platforms.
The exercise will test a capability already demonstrated during the Han Kuang military exercises in August, when an Anping-class patrol ship underwent the conversion after arriving at a naval port, per Liberty Times. The process, from installing missile launchers to having a Navy weapons team board and deploy from port, can be completed within several hours, according to military sources.
Vessels from this class can be configured to carry up to 16 subsonic Hsiung Feng II or supersonic Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles, giving Taiwan an additional mobile coastal strike capability. The capability is intended to strengthen the military's deterrence and flexibility in littoral operations.
The vessels were built with space reserved on the aft deck for missile launchers, Liberty Times reported. Removable protective panels cover the area during peacetime, allowing the vessels to operate without missiles.
When a wartime conversion order is issued, a Coast Guard vessel can sail to a designated naval port, where personnel remove the protective panels and use heavy-duty cranes to install preassembled missile launcher modules. The launchers are secured to reserved mounts, and their signal cables are connected to interfaces built into the vessel.
Instead of replacing crews, the conversion lets the Coast Guard keep operating the ship while the Navy handles the missiles, according to Liberty Times. The Navy sends a weapons team of about four to six personnel, including a fire-control officer, operators, and communications specialists, to operate the missile-control system and receive target coordinates from military command networks.
