Navy accelerates production of “carrier killer” corvettes in response to communist military threats
Taiwan’s ROC Navy is ramping up production of Tuo-chiang class corvettes, and the missiles to arm them, in response to “the communist military threat to Taiwan,” Liberty Times reported today, December 25.
The navy originally planned to take delivery of three of the ships by 2025, but now wants six of the “carrier killers” delivered by 2023.
Alongside the accelerated production of the ships, the military is coordinating with the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology to also ramp up production of Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles so the ships can be fully armed when they come off the production line.
The fast and nimble ships, dubbed by media outlets as “aircraft carrier-killers,” are an important part of Taiwan’s asymmetrical defense strategy, Defense Minister Yen De-fa (嚴德發) stated in 2018.
The Ministry of National Defense confirmed the upgrade in production in a press release, December 16, after some media expressed skepticism about the doubling of production in half the time originally announced by President Tsai Ing-wen in a Facebook post.
See previous story: Defense Ministry Ramps-up Production of ‘Carrier-killer’ Ships
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Since navies, (even that of Taiwan) do not build their own ships or the equipment that makes them go, I’m curious. Which of Taiwan’s many great compaines is building these, and from whence come the components that turn a hull into a living, acting defense weapon? The article mentioned the provenance of the armaments. What about things like engines and such? That might be worth an entire article.
That’s a good point, and taken on board.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lungteh_Shipbuilding
It’s a massive undertaking that quadruples the speed originally planned by halving the scheduled time, while doubling the output.
Merry Christmas, Pastor Aboksu.