Lockheed Martin will help: Taiwan will have a new weapon to fight China submarines

According to journalists, new protochic decisions will be equipped with a CMS-330 combat management system, Bae Artisan radar, 76-mm guns, TC-2N SPRs, HF-3 missiles and Phalanx melee systems. The Taiwan leadership has begun the implementation of a fleet from the latest frigates, some of which are designed to track Chinese submarines. Newsweek writes about it. The severity of the current situation has pushed Taiwan Navy to change its original plans.

Preference was given to two frigates with a watertone of about 2500 tons, each instead of one waterthin replacement of 4500 tons. China claims the territory of neighboring Taiwan, despite the fact that the island has never been under the control of the current government in Beijing. The light frigates of the new generation should be presented in two variants: one for air defense, the other - for prototic. This indicates the multifaceted nature of the naval task facing Taiwan.

According to Naval News, the construction of the first air defense ship (AAW version) began in November 2023. The first two prototypes of ships will appear in 2026 in the framework of the ambitious project. There are 10 more frigates in the Taiwanese Navy. This should be the beginning of the final decommissioning of the outdated Knox Frigates - an important change in the Taiwanese Navy.

The mentioned ships will be equipped with a significant set of modern weapons and systems, in particular the CMS-330 combat management system, Bae Artisan radar, 76-mm caliber guns, TC-2n anti-aircraft missile complexes, HF-3 protracid missiles, Phalanx. They will also have anti-convertible helicopters C-70C. There is data on the installation of SEA Oryx air defense air defense system, but this is not yet confirmed.

The ship designated as AAW will be able to run TC-2N missiles from vertical starting, and a fixed angle-defense ship will have a fixed angle. Among other things, the protochic version will have torpedoes, which will significantly increase its protochic role. The Navy Chief of Taiwan Viceadmiral Chan Chen-Kuo said during a speech in parliament that the frigates would be equipped with advanced water-location systems.

But he remained silent about the country of origin, hinted at the delicate nature of international cooperation in the framework of the project. Han Pi-Hosiang, CEO of the largest of Taiwan Jong Syn, Taiwan's private shipbuilding companies, reported that a Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Lockheed Martin. This means that the American defense giant can enter the regional market of small multi -purpose warships.

The development of this market depends largely on the results of negotiations between US governments and Southeast Asia. Recall that China got a new ally in the Asia-Pacific region. China's cooperation with NAU is not in the interests of the United States. Earlier it was reported that China was aimed at a new controversial territory under Japan. The Senkak (Chinese name - asuyuidao) includes five islands and three rocks.