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La Fayette frigates' missile upgrade set for 2017
Focus Taiwan ^ | 2013/11/04 | By Claudia Liu and Jay Chen

Posted on 11/04/2013 12:40:31 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki

La Fayette frigates' missile upgrade set for 2017

Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) The surface-to-air missiles on the Navy's fleet of La Fayette Class frigates will be replaced with a more advanced system starting in 2017, a senior Naval officer said Monday.

The U.S.-made RIM-72C Sea Chaparral missiles will be replaced with Taiwan's own Sky Sword IIs, Navy Chief of Staff Kao Tien-chung said when answering questions at the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee.

The ship-based Sky Sword II, or Tien Chien II, is a variant of the radar guided air-to-air missile developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) under the Ministry of National Defense.

It has a range of about 100 kilometers, compared with the Sea Chaparral's 10 km. The U.S.-made missiles were first deployed by the Navy in the early 1970s.

Taiwan took delivery of its first 3,200-ton La Fayette frigate from France in 1996. All six frigates are equipped with French-made surveillance and combat systems, although the weapon systems are all made in the United States or Taiwan.


TOPICS: Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: frigate; lafayette; taiwan

1 posted on 11/04/2013 12:40:31 PM PST by sukhoi-30mki
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To: sukhoi-30mki

sleek


2 posted on 11/04/2013 12:42:04 PM PST by GeronL
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To: GeronL

Yep, and without all that extra superstructure, it is more stealthy.


3 posted on 11/04/2013 12:49:32 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (From time to time the.tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.)
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To: Blood of Tyrants

I would think so.

Not that I have any idea how much more stealthy


4 posted on 11/04/2013 12:53:18 PM PST by GeronL
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To: GeronL

Me either. I don’t know how stealthy a large ship can get. Maybe if they conducted a new version of the Philadelphia Experiment.


5 posted on 11/04/2013 2:02:41 PM PST by Blood of Tyrants (From time to time the.tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots.)
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To: sukhoi-30mki

Sea Chaparal was essentially a surface to air version of the early Sidewinder. It wasn’t successful at all. The US Navy declined to buy it. The land based version was used by the Army for a relatively short period.


6 posted on 11/04/2013 6:29:25 PM PST by LSUfan
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