The information was reported on May 25, 2024 by local media LTN quoting a high-level government official. According the LTN’s report, the displacement of the New Generation Frigate will be 6,000 tons. The frigate will feature a U.S. made AN/SPY-7 active phased radar. The anonymous official also told LTN that the Republic of China (ROC or Taiwanese) navy was too optimistic about the program, expecting that it can develop a 4,500-ton ship which is as capable as the more than 6,000-ton ships of other countries.
Another local media, UP MEDIA, quoted an anonymous source saying that the Taiwanese navy found that with a vessel limited to 4,500 tons, it is impossible to fit all the necessary weapon systems and equipment for conducting modern anti-air, anti-surface, anti-submarine warfare.
New Generation Frigate: A development path full of obstacles
The New Generation Frigate was a part of the 12-item force building plan revealed by the ROC Navy in 2016. At TADTE 2017 defense exhibition, the ROC Navy showcased a scale model of the New Generation Frigate to the public. A depiction written in Mandarin explained that the ship would be built to enhance the joint operational capabilities and endure saturated attacks, and that the ROC Navy is devoted to develop new frigate with Aegis structure (神盾架構). But the English version of the depiction, the term “Aegis structure” was not used at all.
It is not known whether the U.S. will sell the Aegis Combat System to Taiwan to equip the future vessels. The Taiwanese navy’s definition of “Aegis” still seem to be opaque. For example, in a parliament question session in 2018, the deputy head of NCSIST told Taiwan’s lawmakers that an “Aegis ship” means a warship featuring an ESA.
Earlier in 2016, when ROC Navy revealed the 12-item force building plan to the media, there was an unconfirmed rumor about a foreign media correspondent asking the senior navy official, is the New Main Combatant (新一代主戰艦, later called New Combatant in CSBC documents) an Aegis warship? And the official reportedly answered that it is not a so-called Aegis warship.
As reported by Naval News in 2022, the goal of the initial plan was to develop a 4,500-ton vessel featuring ESA radar systems. The Taiwanese navy submitted their request to NCSIST, and the request is considered a ship featuring a passive radar system, NCSIST also have already developed a land-based and fixed PESA radar system years ago.
However, the ROC navy changed its request later, asking for an Active ESA radar system to meet the needs of the future operations, but NCSIST was unable to develop an AESA radar system, which is compact enough to fit aboard the 4,500-ton ship. The Control Yaun (ombudsman) has investigated the project and censured, in December 2023, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) and ROC Navy Command in the end, on grounds that the MND and navy changed their decision on the Frigate project multiple times and lead to serious consequences.
