The ''Yushan''-class landing platform dock () is a class of

landing platform dock An amphibious transport dock, also called a landing platform dock (LPD), is an amphibious warfare ship, a warship that embarks, transports, and lands elements of a landing force for expeditionary warfare missions. Several navies currently oper ...

built by

CSBC Corporation, Taiwan CSBC Corporation, Taiwan (, literally "Taiwan International Shipbuilding Corporation") is a company that produces ships for civilian and military use in Taiwan. It is headquartered in Kaohsiung, with shipyards in Kaohsiung and Keelung. It was a s ...

for the

Republic of China Navy The Republic of China Navy (ROCN; ), also called the ROC Navy and colloquially the Taiwan Navy, is the maritime branch of the Republic of China Armed Forces (ROCAF). The service was formerly commonly just called the Chinese Navy during World W ...

(ROCN). Four ships are planned, with one ship launched in April 2021.

Description

''Yushan''-class ships has a length of , a beam of , and their standard displacement is . The class has a draught of , maximum speed of and range of . The ships are able to carry several AAV7 amphibious APCs along with 673 troops. The ships also has a single flight deck with two hangars able to accommodate

Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-blade, twin-engine, medium-lift utility military helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. Sikorsky submitted the S-70 design for the United States Army's Utility Tactical Transport Aircraft System ( ...

or the naval

Sikorsky SH-60 Seahawk The Sikorsky SH-60/MH-60 Seahawk (or Sea Hawk) is a twin turboshaft engine, multi-mission United States Navy helicopter based on the United States Army UH-60 Black Hawk and a member of the Sikorsky S-70 family. The most significant modificat ...

helicopters. The class is unusually well armed for a landing platform dock with a 76 mm gun, two

Phalanx CIWS The Phalanx CIWS (often spoken as "sea-wiz") is a gun-based close-in weapon system to defend military watercraft automatically against incoming threats such as aircraft, missiles, and small boats. It was designed and manufactured by the Gen ...

, and two modular missile launchers of either 8

Hsiung Feng II The Hsiung Feng II (HF-2; , "Brave Wind II") is an anti-ship missile system developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) in Taiwan. The HF-2 is designed to be deployed aboard ships or at facilities on land. ...

surface-to-surface missiles or 16 Hai Chien surface-to-air missiles. They also have radar signature reducing features and electromagnetic pulse protection. The lead ship of the class cost $4.635 billion NTD ($163 million USD). The class is intended to fill both military and humanitarian roles, as a command ship for amphibious operations, a mothership for the ROCN's small minelayers, and a general logistics transport capable of supplying islands without harbor facilities.

History

The ''Yushan'' class is intended to maintain the inventory of the ROCN's land platform docks at two ships. The lead ship of the class will fill the void left by the retirement of the ROCS ''Chung Cheng'' (formerly USS ''Comstock''), while a planned second ship will replace the ROCS ''Hsu Hai'' (formerly USS ''Pensacola''), which served in the Republic of China Navy since 1999. Design efforts began in early 2015 and were unveiled on 15 May 2016. The keel of the lead vessel was laid in June 2020. Yushan was launched in April 2021, the launch ceremony was attended by President

Tsai Ing-wen Tsai Ing-wen (; born 31 August 1956) is a Taiwanese politician serving as president of the Republic of China (Taiwan) since 2016. A member of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), Tsai is the first female president of Taiwan. She served as ...

and Defense Minister

Chiu Kuo-cheng Chiu Kuo-cheng (; born 12 April 1953) is a Taiwanese politician and retired general of the Republic of China Army. He is the current Minister of National Defense. He was the Director-General of the National Security Bureau from 24 July 2019 to 22 ...

. President Tsai described the vessel as a “milestone” on Taiwan’s journey to naval shipbuilding self-sufficiency. The first ship of the class, ''Yushan'', began her sea trials on 7 July 2022. The ship was delivered on 30 September 2022 by CSBC Corporation, Taiwan.

Ships of class

References

{{Reflist Amphibious warfare vessel classes Amphibious warfare vessels of the Republic of China Navy Ships built in the Republic of China

Description

History

Ships of class

See also

References