Taiwan Launches Its First Indigenous Stealth Corvette

Taiwan on Tuesday (Dec 23) launched the Tuo River-class corvette, described by officials as Asia’s fastest and most powerful warship.

December 23, 2014


Taiwan's first domestically-produced missile corvette, the 500-tonne ship Tuo Chiang (Tuo River), is pictured during the vessel's launch ceremony at the naval port at Suao in northeastern Taiwan's Yilan county.

Taiwan on Tuesday (Dec 23) launched its first indigenous stealth missile corvette, described by officials as Asia’s fastest and most powerful warship. Weighing in at 500 tonnes, the twin-hull has been described by local media as a "carrier killer."

The Tuo River-class corvette costs US$70 million, measures 60.4 metres long and 14 metres wide and carries 41 crew members. It has a maximum speed of 38 knots and a range of 2000 nautical miles (3,704km) and will be used to patrol the waters between Taiwan and Taiping Island in the South China Sea.

Officials say it is not only fast, but also harder to detect with radar. "The Tuo River is highly mobile, which is equipped with eight Hsiung Feng class anti-ship missiles. Our main target is the aircraft carrier," said the corvette’s captain Wang Te-chien.

During China's civil war, the Chinese Communists used guerrilla warfare to defeat the Kuomintang (KMT). Adopting that successful strategy at sea, the KMT is now planning to deploy smaller and more agile warships like Tuo River-class corvette to counter the potential military threat from China.

Taiwan's Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. started construction of the warship in November 2012 and officially handed it over to the Navy on Tuesday.

At the delivery ceremony, Defense Minister Yen Ming says the corvette has opened a new chapter for the island's naval forces. He said: "During our initial testing, the vessel's speed not only met the requirement, but far exceeded our expectations. This has made it the fastest and most powerful warship in Asia."

The Navy will train and conduct further tests on the ship for six months before deploying the 'carrier killer' after mid-next year. The Navy plans to commission the building 11 more of such vessels.