The Tuo Chiang-class corvette () is a Taiwanese-designed class of fast (up to ) and stealthy multi-mission corvettes built for the Republic of China Navy. It is designed to counter the numerous and increasingly sophisticated People's Liberation Army Navy ships by utilizing hit-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 minimize chance of detection.
Development The program was announced by the Ministry of National Defense (Republic of China) (MND) on 12 April 2010. It was developed by the Naval Shipbuilding Center in Kaohsiung. The Tuo 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 Legislative Yuan approved a NT$24.98 billion (US$853.4 million) budget to fund the construction of up to 12 ships. 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 the Hsun Hai project corvette. The prototype of the Hsun Hai program was named and christened on Friday, 14 March 2014 as ROCS Tuo Chiang (PGG-618) in honor of the gunboat in the September 2 Sea Battle during the Second Taiwan Strait Crisis.
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 the Tuo River-class hull. Expected weapon systems include the naval variant of the Sky Bow III and the Sky Sword II firing from angled box launchers, as well as the Sea Oryx CIWS system. It will field a ballistic missile defense version of the Sky Bow III missile defense system to shoot down incoming enemy ballistic missiles.Taiwan's NCSIST Successfully Tested a Ship-based Variant of Tien Kung III BMD Interceptor – Navyrecognition.com, 2 January 2017
In 2019 work commenced on the first of twelve 600+ ton coastal patrol vessels for the Coast Guard Administration, the Anping-class offshore patrol vessel, based on the Tuo Chiang-class corvette at the Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Company's Kaohsiung shipyard.
In 2021 Ta Chiang completed the testing and evaluation of the TC-2N missile.
Design The ship is a wave-piercing catamaran design which is long, wide and carries a crew of 41. It is capable of a top speed of 40 knots and a range of . It is armed with eight subsonic Hsiung Feng II and eight supersonic Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missiles launchers, a Phalanx Close-In Weapons System, and a main gun. The ship can operate up to sea state 7 in waves up to high. Taiwan Security Analysis Center (TAISAC) stated that the ship features stealth technologies to minimize radar detection, a combat system that includes a distributed-architecture combat direction system known as "Hsun Lien Project" developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology and an indigenous search/track and fire-control radar and electro-optical director.
The ship increases its survivability in naval warfare by utilizing advanced stealth technology and low radar 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.Taiwan Navy Emphasizing Domestic Shipbuilding Program in Ongoing Maritime Restructure – News.USNI.org, 25 March 2016
Production In December 2020 the first of the improved Tuo Chiang-class corvettes, PGG-619 Ta 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." Ta Chiang has been positively received by military analysts.
Lungteh launched the third Tuo Chiang-class corvette in February 2023.
The fifth vessel, An Chiang (安江), was launched in October 2023. The An Chiang is named after Yilan's Annong River (安農溪).
In March 2024, the final two corvettes from the initial batch of six ships ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding, PPG-625 An Chiang and PPG 626 Wan Chiang, were commissioned at Su'ao Harbor in Yilan.
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. The first ship from the second batch, Dan Chiang (丹江, PGG-627), was launched in July 2025. Ships in the second batch are equipped with a Leonardo NA-30S Mk2 fire-control radar in place of the STIR 1.2 EO Mk2.
Ships of class
Hull number Name Builder Launched Commissioned Status Note Flight 0 PGG-618 Tuo Chiang () Lung Teh Shipyard, Su-Ao 14 March 2014 23 December 2014 Active Class prototype Flight I PGG-619 Ta Chiang () Lung Teh Shipyard, Su-Ao 15 December 2020 27 July 2021 Active Improved hull of first ship PGG-620 Fu Chiang () 21 September 2022 28 June 2023 Active PGG-621 Hsu Chiang () 16 February 2023 6 February 2024 Active PGG-623 Wu Chiang () 28 June 2023 1 March 2024 Active PGG-625 An Chiang () 16 October 2023 26 March 2024 Active PGG-626 Wan Chiang () November 2023 26 March 2024 Active Flight II PGG-627 Tan Chiang () Lung Teh Shipyard, Su-Ao 2 July 2025 11 March 2026 Active PGG-628 Liu Chiang () 7 August 2025 5 May 2026 PGG-629 Wu Chiang () 28 April 2026 30 June 2026 PGG-630 Lan Chiang () 16 September 2026 PGG-632 Pao Chiang () 28 May 2026
Gallery
See also Defense industry of Taiwan List of corvette classes in service
Equivalent modern corvettes
References
External links
NCSIST videos: 沱江艦, 多頻段干擾彈及多載台自動防禦系統, and 2017台北國際航太展-雷射預警 Hsun Hai (Swift Sea) Tuo Jiang – missile corvette – Globalsecurity Taiwan Navy Emphasizing Domestic Shipbuilding Program in Ongoing Maritime Restructure – USNI News