 | |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tuo Chiang |
| Builders | Lungteh Shipbuilding,Su-Ao,Yilan County, Taiwan |
| Operators |  Republic of China (Taiwan) Navy |
| Preceded by | Ching Chiang-class patrol ship |
| Subclasses | Anping-class offshore patrol vessel |
| Cost | NT$5.4 billion (US$188 million)[1] |
| Built | 2012–present |
| In commission | 2014–present |
| Planned | 12 |
| Completed | 7 |
| Active | 7 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type | Coastalcorvette |
| Displacement | 567 tonnes full load,[2][3] 732 tonnes full load (improved hull) |
| Length | 60.4 m (198 ft 2 in) (Length on cushion), 65 m (213 ft 3 in) (improved hull) |
| Beam | 14 m (45 ft 11 in), 14.8 m (48 ft 7 in) (improved hull) |
| Draught | 2.3 m (7 ft 7 in), 2.1 m (6 ft 11 in) (improved hull) |
| Propulsion |
|
| Speed | 45 kn (83 km/h; 52 mph) (fully armed) |
| Complement | 41 |
| Sensors & processing systems |
|
| Electronic warfare & decoys | 12 counter-IR/RFchaff dispensers (6 bow and stern)[4] |
| Armament |
|
| Aviation facilities | Flight deck,[4] primarily for VERTREP |
TheTuo Chiang-class corvette (Chinese:沱江;lit. 'Tuo River') is aTaiwanese-designedclass of fast (up to 45knots, 83 km/h, 52 mph) andstealthy multi-missioncorvettes built for theRepublic of China (Taiwan) Navy. It is designed to counter the numerous and increasingly sophisticatedPeople's Liberation Army Navy ships by utilizinghit-and-run tactics, and thus features clean upper structure design with very few extrusions to reduce radar signature, pre-cooled engine exhaust to reduce infrared signature, and a reduced visual signature to reduce chance of detection.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11]
The program was announced by theRepublic of China (Taiwan) Ministry of National Defense (MND) on 12 April 2010. It was developed by the Naval Shipbuilding Center inKaohsiung,[12] TheTuo Chiang class was developed to address common weakness of traditional small warships such as patrol craft and corvettes not fit for extended periods of time in rough seas around Taiwan Island.
In 2011, the TaiwaneseLegislative Yuan approved a NT$24.98 billion (US$853.4 million) budget to fund the construction of up to 12 ships.[13] On 18 April 2011 a top military officer and a lawmaker announced that the construction of a 500-ton prototype would begin in 2012. In the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition in 2013, the Navy unveiled a model of theHsun Hai project corvette. The prototype of theHsun Hai program was named and christened on Friday, 14 March 2014 as ROCSTuo Chiang (PGG-618) in honor of thegunboat in theSeptember 2 Sea Battle during theSecond Taiwan Strait Crisis.[14]
The Ministry of National Defense prepared a budget of more than NT$16.395 billion in order to secure the follow-up mass production of three Tuojiang ships from 2017 to 2025. The mass production cost of the Tuojiang ship is 3.2 billion higher than that of the first prototype ship already in service, after deducting the hull. The Navy said that the prototype ship did not take into account the cost of missiles, and the mass-produced type was mainly used for combat readiness. The anti-aircraft missile is the standard configuration of the ship.
In early 2016, the ROC Navy began plans for procuring three air defense frigates. It has been speculated that these frigates would possibly be catamarans based on theTuo River-class hull. Expected weapon systems include theMark 41 Vertical Launching System (VLS) equipped with a naval variant of theSky Bow III and theSky Sword II, as well as theSea OryxCIWS system.[15] It will field aballistic missile defense version of theSky Bow III missile defense system to shoot down incoming enemy ballistic missiles.[16]
In 2019 work commenced on the first of twelve 600+ ton coastal patrol vessels for theCoast Guard Administration, theAnping-class offshore patrol vessel, based on theTuo Chiang-class corvette at theJong Shyn Shipbuilding Company's Kaohsiung shipyard.[17]
In 2021Ta Chiang completed the testing and evaluation of theTC-2N missile.[18]
The ship is awave-piercingcatamaran design which is 60.4 metres (198 ft) long, 14 metres (46 ft) wide and carries a crew of 41. It is capable of a top speed of 40 knots and a range of 2,000nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi). It is armed with eight subsonicHsiung Feng II and eight supersonicHsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles launchers, aPhalanx Close-In Weapons System, and a 76 mm (3 in) main gun.[12] The ship can operate up tosea state 7 in waves up to 20–30 ft (6.1–9.1 m) high.[4] Taiwan Security Analysis Center (TAISAC) stated that the ship featuresstealth technologies to minimize radar detection, a combat system that includes a distributed-architecture combat direction system known as "TaiwanAegis" developed by theNational Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology[19] and an indigenous search/track and fire-control radar and electro-optical director.[20][21][22][23]
The ship increases its survivability in naval warfare by utilizing advancedstealth technology and lowradar cross section (RCS), which makes it less detectable by radar and allows it to be obscured by background radar noise when operating closer to the coastline.[24]
In December 2020 the first of the improved Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, PGG-619Ta Chiang, was launched in Yilan. 6 improved models are to be delivered by 2023. According to Janes the new models feature improvements in "weaponry, mission systems, and design."[25]Ta Chiang has been positively received by military analysts.[26]
Lungteh launched the third Tuo Chiang-class corvette in February 2023.[27]
The fifth vessel,An Chiang (安江), was launched in October 2023. TheAn Chiang is named after Yilan's Annong River (安農溪).[28]
In March 2024, the final two corvettes from the initial batch of six ships ordered fromLungteh Shipbuilding, PPG-625An Chiang and PPG 626Wan Chiang, were commissioned at Su'ao Harbor in Yilan.[29][30]
Production of the second batch began in 2024 with production expected to be completed by the end of 2026. Five ships are planned in the second batch.[31] The first ship from the second batch,Dan Chiang (丹江, PGG-627), was launched in July 2025.[32]
| Hull number | Name | Builder | Launched | Commissioned | Status | Note |
| Flight 0 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PGG-618 | Tuo Chiang (沱江艦) | Lung Teh Shipyard,Su-Ao | 14 March 2014[33] | 23 December 2014[34] | Active | Class prototype |
| Flight I | ||||||
| PGG-619 | Ta Chiang (塔江艦) | Lung Teh Shipyard,Su-Ao | 15 December 2020 | 27 July 2021[35] | Active | Improved hull of first ship |
| PGG-620 | Fu Chiang (富江艦) | 21 September 2022[36] | 28 June 2023 | Active | ||
| PGG-621 | Hsu Chiang (旭江艦) | 16 February 2023[27] | 6 February 2024 | Active | ||
| PGG-623 | Wu Chiang (武江艦) | 28 June 2023[27] | 1 March 2024 | Active | ||
| PGG-625 | An Chiang (安江艦) | 16 October 2023[28] | 26 March 2024[37] | Active | ||
| PGG-626 | Wan Chiang (萬江艦) | November 2023 | 26 March 2024[37] | Active | ||
| Flight II | ||||||
| PGG-627 | Tan Chiang (丹江艦) | Lung Teh Shipyard,Su-Ao | 2 July 2025 | |||
| PGG-628 | Liu Chiang (柳江艦) | |||||
| PGG-629 | ||||||
| PGG-630 | ||||||
| PGG-632 | ||||||
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