Laid down 22 February 2001 Status in active service Construction started 22 February 2001 Length 138 m | Commissioned 11 March 2004 Displacement 4,103 tons full Launched 17 October 2002 Builder CSBC Corporation, Taiwan | |
Name ROCS Tian Dan (PFG2-1110) Class and type Cheng Kung-class frigate | ||
ROCS Tian Dan (田單, PFG2-1110) is the eighth ship of the Cheng Kung-class guided-missile frigates of the Republic of China Navy, which was based on the Oliver Hazard Perry class of the United States Navy. Tian Dan was laid down in December 2001, launched on 17 October 2002, and commissioned on 11 March 2004.
The relatively large six year time gap between the construction of Tian Dan and the previous Cheng Kung-class frigate, Chang Chien, can be accounted for by the fact that Tian Dan was not intended to be of the standard Cheng Kung design. Initially, the design of Tian Dan was to have been modified to receive a lighter version of the Aegis combat system that would later become the SPY-1F; and the drawings looked very much like the Spanish Navy Álvaro de Bazán (F-100) class frigates. However, due to uncertain risks at the time, such as the need for ROCN to bear the full cost of the SPY-1F design, and concerns of putting such a system on such a small hull, the ROCN was forced to abandon this ambitious plan by mid 1990s. ain addition to Tian Dan, the original plan called for three more SPY-1F AGEIS type frigates. Álvaro de Bazán can be seen as a realization of this plan with SPY-1F system.
Like her sister ships, Tian Dan was constructed by China SB Corp., at its primary shipyard in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan, Republic of China. But this ship is different from her sister ships by not having the two Bofors 40mm/L70 guns installed. Tian Dan is named after Tian Dan, a general of the Warring States period.
As of 2006, Tian Dan is home ported at ROCN Tso-Ying naval base.
On March 14, 2014, Tian Dan, along with two of Taiwan's Coastguard patrol vessels, arrived in the South China Sea between Malaysia and Vietnam to join the multi-national search and rescue operation for the missing Malaysia Airlines MH370 flight.