Taiwan Buys 2 More Oliver Hazard Perry-class Frigates

Taiwan plans to buy two warships from the United States as part of an effort to modernise its naval force amid a perceived military threat from China, defense minister Kao Hua-chu said on Monday.

The two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates, now serving in the US navy, will be delivered to Taiwan by 2015, Kao said in response to questions in parliament.

The two warships, estimated to cost a total of about TW$7 billion (US$240 million), will replace two of eight now ageing Knox-class frigates which Taiwan acquired in the early 1990s, Kao said.

The Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate specifications are:

• a displacement of 4200 tons
• a length of  135 m
• a beam of 14 m
• a draft of 6.7 m
• a speed of 29 knots
• a range of 8300 km at 20 knots
• a complement of 176

The ship is powered by 2 General Electric LM2500 gas turbines, each generating 41000 shp of horsepower.

The 2 additional ships will join 8 Cheng Kung class frigates, which are a locally build variant of the Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigate, already in service in the Taiwanese Navy. 


http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_asiapacific/view/1235324/1/.html

By U.S. Navy photo [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons