Jin Chiang

The Jin Chiang class is a series of twelve patrol craft built for the Republic of China Navy, primarily used for coastal patrol, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare missions. These vessels are equipped with a variety of armaments including anti-ship missiles, torpedoes, and naval guns.

Developed in the late 1980s by Taiwan's CSBC Corporation, the Jin Chiang-class was designed to replace aging World War II-era patrol vessels and bolster local defense capabilities in the Taiwan Strait. The lead vessel of the class entered service with the Republic of China Navy in 1994, followed by eleven subsequent ships commissioned between 1999 and 2000. While primarily engaged in routine sovereignty patrols, the class gained international attention in July 2016 when the Xiang Jiang accidentally launched a Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missile during a drill. After nearly three decades of service, the class began phased retirement in 2021 to be replaced by the newer, stealthy Tuo Chiang-class corvettes.