Taiwan Navy to Receive Second ‘Aircraft Carrier Killer’ Ship Soon

Taiwan’s Navy is expected to take delivery of the second Tuo Chiang-class guided missile corvette, also known as an “aircraft carrier killer,” very soon.

The Fu Chiang has been sailing since September 2022, with Lungteh Shipbuilding judging tests to have been successful, local news outlet CNA reported.

Taiwan’s defense ministry bought 10 Tuo Chiang-class ships that have a displacement of 685 tons. These stealthy ships are set to be built before the end of 2026. They come equipped with 16 Sea Sword II air-defense missiles, four Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missiles, and eight Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles. They are also reportedly armed with one Phalanx close-in weapons system (CIWS), two 12.7 mm Browning M2HB machine guns, and two Mark 32 Surface Vessel Torpedo Tubes.

The first ship in the series, the Ta Chiang, was launched in December 2020, based on a prototype named the Tuo Chiang and commissioned in 2015. After the Fu Chiang, the third corvette, the Hsu Chiang, started tests in February, while a fourth one, as yet unnamed, was reportedly spotted near Suao in Yilan County.