The “Aegis Ship” plan has failed, leading the Taiwanese military to compromise and initiate the construction of a 2000-ton-class light frigate.
According to media reports, the “Light Frigate Anti-Air Prototype Ship” in Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Qijin Shipyard recently started construction, marked by a steel-cutting ceremony at the construction site. From building the so-called “Carrier Killer” “Tuojiang” ship to constructing submarines and now the new light frigate, Taiwan has sparked a shipbuilding wave not seen in decades. So, how does the performance of the new light frigate stack up?
The Persistence and Compromise of the “Aegis Ship”
In today’s naval equipment arena, if a warship claims to be an anti-aircraft vessel but lacks a multi-faced phased array radar system and vertical launch system similar to the “Aegis” system, other anti-aircraft vessels may question its credentials.
Since the birth of the U.S. “Aegis” anti-aircraft system, it has gradually become the design reference for warships with anti-aircraft as their main mission. Some countries directly imported the U.S. “Aegis,” such as Spain’s F-100 frigate and South Korea’s KDX-3 destroyer. Others used it as a reference in design, like the Netherlands’ “De Zeven Provinciën” class and Germany’s “Sachsen” class, all equipped with four active phased-array radars covering 360 degrees. In recent years, some multi-role warships have also adopted this design, such as Japan’s “Mogami” class, where anti-aircraft is not the primary mission, but anti-submarine and patrol duties, yet it still integrates four phased-array radars on the mast.
Due to a certain level of domestic military industry capabilities, the Taiwanese military aims to keep up with the trend in weapon development. Despite facing the awkward situation of projects often falling short of expectations, they have achieved some results with weapons like the “Hsiung Feng-2” missile, “Tien Kung” series anti-aircraft missiles, and the third-generation IDF fighter. When the “Aegis” warship appeared, the Taiwanese military was intrigued. According to relevant information, in 1983, a Taiwanese military inspection team visited the newly built U.S. “Ticonderoga” class and the under-construction “Arleigh Burke” class “Aegis” warships, sparking great interest. The Taiwanese Navy subsequently launched the “Tien Tan” class “Aegis Ship” plan, attempting to install phased-array radar on the 4000-ton “Perry” class frigate. However, they later found it challenging to install the heavy phased-array radar on the 4000-ton hull. After facing issues such as insufficient power and high center of gravity, the Taiwan Navy decided to abandon the plan in 1995 after 15 years and an investment of NT$32 billion. The project ended in failure.
After the failure of the “Perry” class frigate modification, the Taiwanese military did not give up on the “Aegis Ship” dream. In 2014, they initiated the so-called “self-built warship” plan. In 2016, the Taiwanese military officially announced 12 shipbuilding plans, including a new generation frigate similar to the “Aegis” ship, as part of the “Thunder Sea” project. The plan aimed to develop and build an anti-aircraft frigate with a displacement of over 4500 tons, equipped with phased-array radar and a vertical launch system. The project had a budget of NT$24.5 billion and planned to build a prototype ship of 4500 tons from 2019 to 2026, with the first batch of four ships. The total number was expected to reach 12.
In 2017, an octagonal radar tower appeared on the central body of the Taiwanese “National Science Research Institute” weapon test ship LCC-1 “Kaohsiung,” starting tests on a domestically developed phased-array radar. The ship was also equipped with the MK41 vertical launch system, “Hai Kung-3” long-range anti-aircraft missiles, “Sea Sword-2” medium-range missiles, and “Sea Sword Ling” point defense missiles. This led to speculations domestically that the dream of a self-built “Aegis Ship” was within reach. However, as the saying goes, dreams are abundant, but reality is stark. In April of this year, senior Taiwanese naval officials finally admitted that “a 4500-ton patrol frigate carrying the Aegis system is indeed unfeasible.” The decision was made to build a 2000-ton-class light frigate, shattering the “Aegis Ship” dream once again.
There are reports that Taiwan may consider purchasing the new generation “Constellation” class frigate from the United States. The ship is equipped with Raytheon’s SPY-6(V)3 active phased-array radar, which is more advanced than the early SPY-1D phased-array radar on the “Arleigh Burke” class destroyer. Analysts believe that the ship’s relatively low cost and minimal crew make it suitable for mass production. The U.S. Navy hopes to build more than 70 of these frigates, making it a plausible option for export.
Compromising with the “Light Guard” as a Second Choice
With the failure of the “Aegis Ship” dream, the Taiwanese Navy can only pursue a light frigate with lower technical difficulty.
According to information released by Taiwanese media, the light frigate is 115 meters long, 15 meters wide, with a standard displacement of 2500 tons and a full load displacement of about 3000 tons. With this displacement, it has reached the standard of a medium-sized frigate. Generally, frigates below 1000 tons are referred to as light frigates.
According to the plan, Taiwan aims to allocate NT$24.54916 billion (approximately RMB 5.6 billion) from the budget for the years 2019 to 2026 to build two light frigates. The light frigate is divided into anti-aircraft and anti-submarine types. The primary combat mission of the anti-aircraft type is air defense, carrying a larger number of medium-range anti-aircraft missiles. The anti-submarine type also carries medium-range anti-aircraft missiles, but half the quantity, along with anti-submarine missiles and various anti-submarine sonar systems, providing stronger anti-submarine capabilities.
From the photos released by Taiwanese media, the mast of the anti-aircraft frigate is equipped with a rotating 3D single-face phased-array radar at the top, possibly from the British BAE Systems. The main weapons of the frigate include a 76mm naval gun, “Hsiung Feng-3” supersonic anti-ship missiles, and a vertical launch system using the domestically developed “Huayang” vertical launch system from the “National Science Research Institute.” The system has eight launch units configured in a “one pit, four missiles” manner and can accommodate 32 “Sea Sword-2” missiles. The stern is equipped with a helicopter hangar and deck, capable of carrying a 10-ton class anti-submarine helicopter. Above the hangar, there is also a “Phalanx” close-in weapon system. The “anti-submarine” variant is equipped with anti-submarine missile launchers and torpedo launch tubes. However, the anti-aircraft missiles use traditional inclined launch boxes, with 16 “Sea Sword-2” missiles deployed in the central part of the hull, covering a 180° area on each side.
“Sea Sword-2” is a naval-to-air missile developed based on the “Sky Sword-2” medium-range air-to-air missile. The design concept is inspired by the U.S. improved “Sea Sparrow” medium-range shipborne air-to-air missile. To meet the increased range and on-ship requirements, the missile added a solid rocket booster and adopted folding wings. The missile has a reported range of about 30 to 50 kilometers, with active radar guidance for terminal homing, providing strong multi-target engagement capabilities. “Sea Sword-2” has two launch modes: vertical and inclined. The inclined launch version is currently deployed on the “Tajiang” class frigate and the amphibious dock landing ship, while the vertical launch version will be equipped on the “Kangding” class frigate after a performance upgrade and on the newly started construction of the light frigate.
In recent years, the development of the main warships of the Taiwanese military has particularly emphasized anti-ship capabilities. For example, the “Tajiang” class light frigate, with a displacement of only over 600 tons, is equipped with 8 “Hsiung Feng-2” and 4 “Hsiung Feng-3” anti-ship missiles, comparable to a destroyer in firepower. The new light frigate is equipped with 8 improved “Hsiung Feng-3” supersonic anti-ship missiles, with a maximum range increased to 400 kilometers. However, this range can only be achieved at an altitude exceeding 15,000 meters, making it vulnerable to interception. If a low-altitude trajectory is adopted, the range is only about 150 kilometers.
According to the plan, Taiwan may build 12 light frigates. Looking at the positioning of light frigates, they are intended to replace the aging “Chiyang” class frigates, undertaking the crucial tasks of air defense and anti-submarine warfare in the naval equipment sequence. However, given that the maximum range of the “Sea Sword-2” missile is only 50 kilometers, providing only limited area air defense capability, and with medium-range shipborne air defense missiles becoming widespread in today’s multi-role frigates, the positioning of the anti-aircraft frigate seems somewhat overstated. In this class of frigates, the weapons of the light frigate are relatively complete, with capabilities for air defense, anti-submarine, and anti-ship warfare. Nevertheless, the persistent view remains: in a potential conflict or war, facing an opponent equipped with a comprehensive system and various long-range strike capabilities, these frigates are likely to be destroyed in port at the outset, or even if they are at sea, they may not escape saturation attacks from various anti-ship missiles, making their role challenging.