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Naval
Defense News - Taiwan |
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ROC
Navy Catamaran Corvette "Tuo River", first Taiwanese LCS,
started Sea Trials |
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Taiwan's
first vessel in a new class of 12 catamaran corvettes started its trials
at sea. The "Tuo River" was going out at sea for the first
time from Suao in northeastern Taiwan's Yilan county, where it was christened
in March this year. The corvette will undergo a series of sea trials
before its commissioning expected in the first half of 2015. |
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The "Tuo River" Catamaran Corvette sailing under its own power.
Picture: Internet/Lee Chung Wei
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This
new vessel project was first unveiled during TADTE 2013, the Taipei
Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition, in August 2013. The corvette
was built by the Lung-De Shipbuilding Corporation under the "Swift
Sea" program.
With a length of 60.4 meters this corvette size vessel is designed for
littoral operations. A sign on display at the show indicated:
"In order to face the increasing threat across the Taiwan Strait,
ROC Navy has developed a new type of Littoral Combat Ship, High Efficiency
Wave Piercing Catamaran (WPC). This ship design increases ship mobility,
and provides for greater stealth technology, larger capacity, and better
adaptability to environmental conditions. This new class of ships is
designed by Naval Shipbuilding Development Center (NSDC) and Ship Ocean
Industries R&D Center (SOIC). The High Efficiency Wave Piercing
Catamaran (WPC) is currently under construction by the Lund-De Shipbuilding
Corporation." |
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The "Tuo River" in the port of Suao in northeastern Taiwan's
Yilan county. Picture: Internet/Lee Chung Wei
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This
Taiwanese "Littoral Combat Ship" is heavily armed for its
size as it is fitted with no less than 16 anti-ship missiles. Representatives
at the show said the catamaran corvette may fire both Hsiung Feng II
and Hsiung Feng III missiles making it a potent ASUW platform. HF-3
missile is expected to have a range of 130 kilometers and is reported
to be capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2 while the older generation
HF-2 missile has a range of 160 kilometers and reach subsonic speeds.
In addition to anti-ship missiles, the corvette is fitted with a 76mm
main gun, 4x 12.7mm machine guns and a Phalanx 20mm CIWS. There is no
helicopter hangar; however the deck may accommodate a medium size helicopter
(10 tons class). Propulsion is achieved through 4 waterjets.
Basic ship specifications:
Length: 60.4m
Width: 14m
Depth: 6m
Max draught: 2.3m
Max speed: 38 knots
Endurance: 2000 nautical miles
Crew: 34
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