The Hsiung Feng I was officially a reverse-engineered version of Gabriel Mk.2 antiship missile, although Israel is believed to have cooperated with Taiwan. Sun Yat-sen Institute and National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology redesigned the missile to include Taiwanese components. First test-fire of Hsiung Feng I was done in 1977. Initial production started in 1979. HF-I design flaws with the radar radio frequency altimeter, cooling system, and the rocket motor undermined the missile's effectiveness. Taiwan redesigned the missile to create the Hsiung Feng IA (HF-1A), which went into production in 1981. The missile was in service until 2012. 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 Due to it being superseded by the Hsiung Feng II on larger patrol craft and in coastal batteries, the HF-1 is being phased out of service (along with
Hai Ou class FACs). 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==