Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Jeff Head said:

I think they are meant to be able to operate off of other sensors data that is fed to them over a data link.

Other vessels, MPA, other patrol aircraft, particularly from the six E-2 Hawkeye aircraft that Taiwan operates. As long as they stay relatively close in, and then operate off of that data that locates the vessel groupings they are expected to attack, and then dash out to launch...I think that is how they are meant to operate.

I do not think their missons are that much different.

According to the contacts I have in Taiwan, they are not meant to operate at any great distance from the island.

They are meant to operate against surface groups approaching Taiwan...particularly in the event of an invasion type force.

As such, they will remain under Taiwan's aircraft umbrella/range. and also be protected by the surface vessels I mentioned.

If they had to venture several hundred miles north or south into the China Sea or to the east into the Pacific, they would not survivie to accomplish their mission.

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If they stay close to the shore that is ok , they could surely survive to fire on invasion force . But article mentioned attacking Chinese carrier . HF-2 has less then 200 km range , HF-3 less then 150 . I don't think PLAN would position its aircraft carrier(s) so close to Taiwan . In fact , if they elect to use them against Taiwan ( and they don't have to) they would probably position them to enforce blockade of the island .

thunderchief said:

If they stay close to the shore that is ok , they could surely survive to fire on invasion force . But article mentioned attacking Chinese carrier . HF-2 has less then 200 km range , HF-3 less then 150 . I don't think PLAN would position its aircraft carrier(s) so close to Taiwan . In fact , if they elect to use them against Taiwan ( and they don't have to) they would probably position them to enforce blockade of the island .

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Again,it doesn't have to be aircraft carriers. Because sinking or damage any other major naval combatant, such as a DDG or a large amphibious landing craft, not only the aircraft carrier, would cause serious damage to an invasion force, and is worth the money spent on the Hsun-Hai class.

IMO a naval blockade of of Taiwan is not a realistic option for the PLAN for now, because that would mean PLAN has successfully break through the first island chain, and U.S. Navy won't just sit and let that happen. Plus, they will be facing all the Kee Lung class DDG and other major combatant of ROCN and ROCAF stationed on the eastern side of the island.

thunderchief said:

If they stay close to the shore that is ok , they could surely survive to fire on invasion force . But article mentioned attacking Chinese carrier . HF-2 has less then 200 km range , HF-3 less then 150 . I don't think PLAN would position its aircraft carrier(s) so close to Taiwan . In fact , if they elect to use them against Taiwan ( and they don't have to) they would probably position them to enforce blockade of the island .

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Agreed. The PLAN will keep the carrier well off shore and well out of range of those missiles.

It would take an all out effort by the ROCN using all of their DDGs and FFGs and most of their air force to allow these vessels to break through to the Chinese carrier and launch...and even that would be questionable.

So, I believe talk of attacking the carrier with these is for the rah-rah public consumption. They will be used to counter and invasion force.

As to a blockade of TAwian, I agree with ToxicStar. At least not in the forseeable future because PLAN vessels would have to encircle the island to the east, where they would be very vulnerable to US Navy and ROCN assets.

ToxicStar said:

Again,it doesn't have to be aircraft carriers. Because sinking or damage any other major naval combatant, such as a DDG or a large amphibious landing craft, not only the aircraft carrier, would cause serious damage to an invasion force, and is worth the money spent on the Hsun-Hai class.

IMO a naval blockade of of Taiwan is not a realistic option for the PLAN for now, because that would mean PLAN has successfully break through the first island chain, and U.S. Navy won't just sit and let that happen. Plus, they will be facing all the Kee Lung class DDG and other major combatant of ROCN and ROCAF stationed on the eastern side of the island.

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Blockade is only realistic option for China ,as they are not insane to launch invasion force into the teeth of Taiwanese defense . Therefore , if China decides to go for the military solution of the problem (which I doubt , as they have other means) they will first implement naval blockade followed by strikes with cruise and ballistic missiles , and later air strikes .

Would US intervene , or at least threaten to intervene ? Taiwanese defense strategy relies on it . On the other hand , China has ways to influence US decision making . Also , they are taking their time , hoping to increase their strength enough to deter US from taking any significant military action .

Looking at all of this , small corvettes like Hsun-Hai class are partially useful to buy some time for Taiwan if there is some hope for US intervention (in case of war , US public first needs to be prepared with massive propaganda campaign as usual , before any military action ) . But , if the US is not willing to intervene , they cannot prevent eventual Chinese takeover .

I think we shouldn't get into the intricacies of a hypothetical invasion scenario too much.

Without a doubt, if the ROCN does end up producing a large number of these large FACs, they will be good counter offensive assets in an area denial scenario.


However looking at the larger force balance today and into the future, they are far from game changers, and the "carrier killer" name is mostly token, because any chinese carrier won't be sent close in a taiwan scenario anyway.

The boats are a good start for the ROC military as they begin to use more asymmetrical weapons to counter the quantitatively and qualitatively superior PLA.



I will say however, that invasion should definitely be on the PLA's contingency list, and is a more likely strategy than blockade, because the latter will take time, while the former (if successful) can end the crisis faster which is essential to prevent the conflict involving the US which will end up being bad news bears for everyone.

The PLA has built up a formidable air force, navy, and missile force in the last ten years, with emphasis on modern informationized assets like AEWC, ELINT/SIGINT, satellites, UAVs and EW to facilitate them. The success of an invasion will entirely depend on how well they integrate their assets together to strike the first punch, to allow for LSTs and other landing ships to cross with escorts.

The ROC military will naturally seek to inflict as many casualties as they can, including naval. small, stealthy FACs are probably their best way to do so. Of course it will be an interesting match because the PLAN will most likely use their own 022s too, and the width of the Taiwan strait makes it difficult for ships to hide and do hit and run tactics, depending on which side has airpower.
A single AEWC orbiting in the edge of your airspace can completely map the strait and any assets inside, and can see many hundreds of kilometers into the other guy's airspace too.

The side which has air superiority will make the strait a killing ground for opposing naval vessels. FACs, being smaller and stealthier than FFGs and DDGs, may be the only viable naval attack choice if one realizes they will not be able to achieve air superiority.

thunderchief said:

Blockade is only realistic option for China ,as they are not insane to launch invasion force into the teeth of Taiwanese defense . Therefore , if China decides to go for the military solution of the problem (which I doubt , as they have other means) they will first implement naval blockade followed by strikes with cruise and ballistic missiles , and later air strikes .

Would US intervene , or at least threaten to intervene ? Taiwanese defense strategy relies on it . On the other hand , China has ways to influence US decision making . Also , they are taking their time , hoping to increase their strength enough to deter US from taking any significant military action .

Looking at all of this , small corvettes like Hsun-Hai class are partially useful to buy some time for Taiwan if there is some hope for US intervention (in case of war , US public first needs to be prepared with massive propaganda campaign as usual , before any military action ) . But , if the US is not willing to intervene , they cannot prevent eventual Chinese takeover .

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Somehow I doubt the possibility of a naval blockade. As I mentioned in my last post, a blockade of Taiwan means that PLAN has already broken through the first island chain. And the only two possible ways for PLAN to do so are either through Diaoyu/Senkaku island or Balintang Channel. And these two options would mean either risking a war with Japan or US, which is not what China can afford during an invasion. Even if PLAN units manage to reach the eastern side of the island, it will be a very different game for them, because what awaits them is the bulk of the ROCN and ROCAF. IMO by the current status of both navies, they might be able to repel the invading PLAN fleet even without the help of the US Navy should a battle break out on the eastern side of the island.

Considering all that, it would be a lot easier for PLA to send a landing force and take over the island after taking out all the vital defense assets of the island with cruise and ballistic missiles. Surely the landing force will suffer great casualty in doing so, but if u compare this to the risk of PLAN going head on with Taiwanese, Japanese and US Navy, it is a price that PLA can afford to pay. So a naval blockade is not an realistic option for the PLA, at least in the forseeable future.

As for the possibility of US military intervention, once the first island chain is broken, it is no longer just a war between Taiwan and China, the entire US defense strategy on western Pacific is at risk, and IMO right now China does not have any diplomatic or economical ways to influence the US decision makers to just sit and do nothing, especially when it comes to issues that concern the US national security.

ToxicStar said:

Due to the killing of a Taiwanese Fisherman in controversial water earlier this year. Despite the fact that a joint military exercise involving Kee Lung class DDG was conducted in the area as a demonstration of strength, Kee Lung class is just too expensive to operate on a long term.
I believe that Hsun-Hai Class would be better suited as a long term demonstration of strength and protection of fishing vessels in case similar incident happens again in the future due to their cheaper operating cost.

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16 AShMs with a Phalanx plus main gun to protect fishing vessels? That's quite an overkill. Kuang Hua VI on patrols in that area would already be plenty enough. Aside from countering invasion forces close to Taiwan, I wonder if they could serve as escorts to their larger capital ships like Kee Lung class DDGs? Since ROCN does not have the numbers, their capital ships are not easily replaceable in a combat scenario. Also maybe for any patrols that they may do around Taiping Island?

Some rare sights: M41 Walker Bulldog and CM-32 Cloud Leopard were put on display in a Special Force exhibition sponsored by Discovery Channel and Wargaming.net back in June, took these photos when I was there:

A partial blockade of Taiwan would be very damaging in of itself.

Okay guys, we have gone over the PRC blockade of Taiwan scenario enough. It is off topic anyway, and it can easily lead to bad feelings and flame wars. Until and unless there is some official news of a blockade, one way or the other...which I do not expect...let's leave off with the talk of a blockade, or of a PRC vs. Taiwan conflict, and continue with specific news related to Taiwan's (ROC's) military.



Thanks.