Hsiung Feng I


The Hsiung Feng I is an anti-ship missile system developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taiwan ROC between 1975 and 1978 in response to the SY-1 missile being introduced into service with the opposing People's Liberation Army Navy.

Development

As NCSIST's previous experience with anti-ship missile development was limited to experimentally fitting warheads onto MQM-33B drones, the decision was made to base the weapon on the Israeli Gabriel Mk I with necessary modifications added in order to remain competitive against the SY-1 missile, making it essentially a Taiwanese interpretation of the Gabriel Mk II.
The system uses the Taiwanese CS/SPG-21A as a target acquisition and fire control radar. The CS/SPG-21A reportedly has a range of 37km which was later upgraded to 46km.

Service history

Prior to the service entry of the Hsiung Feng II missile, it was the primary anti-ship weapon on all of the ROC Navy's frontline surface combatants, including the majority of the service's Gearing class and Allen M. Sumner class destroyers. It is currently deployed on the ROCN's littoral combatants, most notably the Hai Ou class missile boats, as well as some land based facilities. Due to it being superseded by the Hsiung Feng II on larger patrol craft and in coastal batteries, the HF-1 is being phased out of service. The last ship to carry the missile converted to the HF-2 in early 2013. The missiles were sent back to NCSIST for decommissioning.

Variants

HF-IA

The IA variant was created to address deficiencies with the radar radio frequency altimeter, cooling system, and the rocket motor of the missile. The redesigned missile was designated HF-1A and entered production in 1981.

General characteristics