:ROCS Kang Ding
{{short description|Republic of China Navy frigate}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image= File:ROCS Kang Ding (PFG-1202).jpg |Ship caption= ROCS Kang Ding }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship country=Taiwan |Ship flag= {{shipboxflag|Republic of China|naval}} |Ship name= *Kang Ding
|Ship namesake= Kang Ding |Ship ordered= |Ship awarded= |Ship original cost= |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= 1 February 1994 |Ship launched= 22 March 1994 |Ship sponsor= |Ship christened= |Ship completed= |Ship acquired= 18 May 1996 |Ship commissioned= 24 May 1996 |Ship recommissioned= |Ship decommissioned= |Ship maiden voyage= |Ship in service= |Ship out of service= |Ship renamed= |Ship reclassified= |Ship refit= |Ship struck= |Ship reinstated= |Ship homeport= Zuoying |Ship identification=Pennant number: PFG-1202 |Ship motto= |Ship nickname= |Ship honours= |Ship honors= |Ship captured= |Ship fate= |Ship status= Active |Ship notes= |Ship badge= }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship class= Kang Ding-class frigate |Ship displacement=3,200 tonnes, 3,800 tonnes fully loaded |Ship length={{convert|125|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|15.4|m|abbr=on}} |Ship height= |Ship draught={{convert|4.1|m|abbr=on}} |Ship power= |Ship propulsion=4 diesel SEMT Pielstick 12PA6V280 STC2, {{convert|21000|hp|kW|abbr=on}} |Ship speed={{convert|25|kn|abbr=on}} |Ship range=*{{convert|4000|nmi|abbr=on}} at {{convert|15|kn|abbr=on}}
|Ship endurance=50 days of food |Ship boats=2 × ETN boats |Ship capacity=350 tonnes of fuel, 80 m³ of kerosene, 60 tonnes of potable water |Ship complement=*12 officers
|Ship sensors=*1 × CastorII fire control radar
|Ship EW= |Ship armament=
|Ship armour=On sensitive areas (munition magazine and control centre) |Ship armor= |Ship aircraft= |Ship aircraft facilities= Hangar and helipad |Ship notes= }} |
ROCS Kang Ding (PFG-1202) is a Kang Ding-class frigate of the Republic of China Navy.
Development and design
As the ROC (Taiwan)'s defensive stance is aimed towards the Taiwan Strait, the ROC Navy is constantly seeking to upgrade its anti-submarine warfare capabilities. The US$1.75 billion agreement with France in the early 1990s was an example of this procurement strategy,{{Cite web|date=2 October 1991|title=France authorizes frigate sale to Taiwan|url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11323386.html|url-access=subscription|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924053141/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-11323386.html|archive-date=24 September 2015|accessdate=6 August 2015|work=Defense Daily}} the six ships are configured for both ASW and surface attack. The Exocet was replaced by Taiwan-developed Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile and the AAW weapon is the Sea Chaparral. The main gun is an Oto Melara 76 mm/62 mk 75 gun, similar to its Singaporean counterparts, the Formidable-class frigates. Some problems in the integration of Taiwanese and French systems had been reported. The frigate carries a single Sikorsky S-70C(M)-1/2 ASW helicopter.
The Sea Chaparral SAM system is considered inadequate for defense against aircraft and anti-ship missiles, so the ROC (Taiwan) Navy plans to upgrade its air-defense capabilities with the indigenous TC-2N in 2020.{{cite news|date=4 November 2013|title=La Fayette frigates' missile upgrade set for 2017|work=Focus Taiwan|url=http://focustaiwan.tw/news/aipl/201311040031.aspx|accessdate=30 October 2015}} {{subscription required}} The missiles will be quad-packed in a vertical launch system for future ROCN surface combatants,{{cite web|last1=Lundquist|first1=Edward H.|title=Interview with Adm. Richard Chen, Republic of China Navy (Ret.)|url=https://www.defensemedianetwork.com/stories/interview-with-adm-richard-chen-republic-of-china-navy-ret/|accessdate=2 August 2019|website=www.defensemedianetwork.com|publisher=Defense Media Network}} but a less-risky alternative arrangement of above-deck, fixed oblique launchers is seen as more likely for upgrading these French-built frigates.
Construction and career
= Mid-Life Upgrade =
The Kang Ding class was originally intended to be equipped with Aster-15 and Arabel 3D / X-band multi-functional radar. However, due to cost and political difficulties, the upgrade never materialised. However, since 2019 a limited upgrade program has begun. In 2020, ROCN signed a contract to upgrade the DAGIE decoy system to the DAGIE MK2, which will permit the deployment of more advanced decoys and chaff such as SEALEM (RF for distraction and seduction), SEALIR (IR for distraction and seduction) and REM rockets.{{Cite news|date=17 April 2020|title=ROC Navy Kang Ding-Class Frigates Set For Decoy Launcher Upgrade|url=https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/04/roc-navy-kang-ding-class-frigates-set-for-decoy-launcher-upgrade/|accessdate=5 Feb 2022}} It was also observed that the Oto Melara 76 mm/62 mk 75 gun was upgraded with a new cupola with angled surfaces for signature reduction.
In 2022, a deeper upgrade of the Kang Ding was announced, with the progressive installation of Huayang VLS for the TC-2N missile and upgraded Xunlian command and control systems across the entire fleet by 2025.
Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident
{{More|Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident}}
In May 2013, Hong Shicheng, the captain of Guangxing 28, was killed by the Philippine Coast Guard’s fire on a Taiwanese fishing boat, which led to tensions between Taiwan and the Philippines. For this reason, the Southern Regional Patrol Bureau of the Coastal Patrol Administration of the Republic of China Executive Yuan’s Coastal Patrol Bureau announced on May 12. Kang Ding and the Jiyang-class missile frigate, formed a joint fleet to go to the waters around Taiwan and the Philippines to strengthen maritime patrols.{{Cite web|title=漁民遭槍殺後台灣派遣軍艦加入護漁 – BBC中文網 – 國際|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/trad/world/2013/05/130512_taiwan_philippines_ship.shtml|access-date=2020-11-29|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=zh-Hant}}{{Cite web|title=台灣提升對菲律賓軍事壓力 – BBC中文網 – 兩岸|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/zhongwen/trad/china/2013/05/130513_taiwan_philippines.shtml|access-date=2020-11-29|website=www.bbc.co.uk|language=zh-Hant}}{{Cite web|title=台灣5船艦武裝齊發 呼應漁民「一命換一命」憤怒 {{!}} ETtoday政治新聞 {{!}} ETtoday新聞雲|url=https://www.ettoday.net/news/20130512/206236.htm|access-date=2020-11-29|website=www.ettoday.net|language=zh-Hant}}
Gallery
File:ROC Navy PFG3-1202 and S-70C.jpg|ROCS Kang Ding underway, date unknown.
File:ROCN Kang Ding (PFG-1202) Shipped at Zuoying Naval Base 20151024b.jpg|ROCS Kang Ding at Zuoying Naval Base on 24 October 2015.
References
{{Reflist}}
{{La Fayette class frigate |state = uncollapsed }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kang Ding}}