At the TADTE 2025 exhibition, the Taiwanese Navy (Republic of China Navy – ROCN) displayed scale models of the two variants—Anti-Air Warfare (AAW) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW)—of its next-generation light frigate, accompanied by explanatory posters.
According to the ROCN, the Next-Generation Light Frigate was developed to counter increasing “gray-zone” harassment by Chinese military vessels and aircraft, which has intensified significantly over the past decade.
The primary mission of the light frigate is to conduct maritime surveillance and reconnaissance for Taiwan’s military, meeting the Navy’s operational requirements during wartime. In peacetime, the ships rotate through maritime patrol, surveillance, reconnaissance, and air-defense tasks, while also assisting main battle task forces in securing sea lines of communication, defending airspace, and responding to contingencies.
In wartime, the light frigates support surface combat task forces by monitoring Chinese military aircraft, conducting reconnaissance patrols and surveillance, and performing defensive missions in port approaches. Equipped with radar early-warning systems, they can detect a wide range of enemy threats, extend the operational depth of task forces, break blockades, deliver joint firepower strikes, and engage enemy forces along coastal areas by independently launching various types of missiles.
A Navy officer at the Defense Ministry and Armed Forces pavilion told the correspondent that the most visible difference between the two light-frigate variants is that the AAW version is fitted with the domestically developed Hua Yang vertical launch system for launching Taiwan’s TC-2N surface-to-air missiles.
Contractors involved in the light-frigate project showed little at their booths. Lockheed Martin displayed an illustration of various warship types from different countries featuring the CMS-330 Combat Management System, including Taiwan’s light frigate, while Gibbs & Cox presented a banner highlighting the company’s contributions to the program.
The Taiwanese builder responsible for constructing the vessels, Jong Shyn Shipbuilding Company (中信造船, JSSC), did not display any information about the light frigate at its booth. When asked by the correspondent about the project’s progress, a company manager—while explaining other products to visitors—neither confirmed nor denied local media reports from several months earlier alleging difficulties with the program. He emphasized that the Navy’s official statements take precedence, noting that this is the first time Jong Shyn has built a warship of this size and expressing hope that the public will support the company.
About the Light Frigate Project
The light frigate is part of the 12-item force-building plan unveiled by ROCN in 2016. The original goal was to develop a 4,500-ton vessel equipped with electronically scanned array (ESA) radar systems. However, the developer, NCSIST, encountered difficulties in producing a compact active ESA radar suitable for a ship of that size, and the project stalled. The program later shifted focus to two lighter, approximately 2,500-ton frigates to address the urgent need for Tier 2 (or “second-class”) combat ships, which serve as the main workhorses of ROCN
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