Taiwan has signed a NT$2.49 billion (US$79.2 million) deal with France to upgrade its Lafayette-class frigates, as the island's military seeks to counter growing threats from the People's Liberation Army (PLA).

Observers said the upgrade, which will focus on combat systems, was a necessary move as the French-made warships had long been known for their poor defence capabilities.

However, they might still be no match for the PLA, according to a Taipei-based analyst.

Taiwan's defence ministry said its European purchase office had signed a deal with France's DCI Group for the supply of parts and accessories to maintain the fleet's combat readiness.

DCI - the French defence ministry's sales arm - is bound under the contract to deliver the items no later than January 18, 2026, the ministry in Taipei announced last week.

The latest contract is part of the Taiwanese navy's plan to upgrade all its Lafayette frigates by 2030.

A ministry source said the purchase was also part of the navy's efforts to modernise in the face of growing military pressure across the Taiwan Strait.

"The parts and accessories are essential for upgrading the combat systems of the Kang Ding-class frigates," the source said, referring to the warships' Taiwanese name.

Taiwan has six Lafayette warships bought under a 1991 contract with France-based Thales, formerly Thomson-CSF. The deal sharply provoked Beijing, which sees Taiwan as part of China to be reunited by force if necessary and warns countries against official contact with or weapons sales to the island.

Most countries, including Taiwan's top arms supplier the United States, do not recognise self-governed Taiwan as independent but are opposed to any attempt to take the island by force.

The source said the Taiwanese navy was unable to acquire the Aster-15 anti-air missile and the Excocet anti-ship missiles from France at the time, due to strong protests from Beijing.

This resulted in the frigates being delivered without weapon systems.

In the end, Taiwan equipped the frigates with its own Hsiung Feng-II anti-ship missiles and the US-made Chaparral surface-to-air missiles, which "sharply reduced the combat power" of the warships, the source said.

Given its short-range of less than 10km (about 6 miles), Chaparral is seen as unlikely to take down any fast PLA fighter jets, especially at high altitudes.

"The combat systems of the Kang Ding are the poorest among all types of frigates in Taiwan. Poor anti-air and anti-ship capabilities would make it hard for them to survive in the event of a cross-strait conflict," said Chen Kuo-ming, editor-in-chief of the Taipei-based Defence International magazine.

The demands of modern warfare made the combat system upgrade very necessary, he added.

Armand Tan, a senior researcher at the Taiwan International Strategic Study Society, a Taipei think tank, said the Lafayettes could be used as the commanding fleet for other mid-and-small-sized frigates once improved radar systems were in place.

"But for them to be used as the major fleet in a potential cross-strait conflict, their combat capabilities are still far inadequate compared with those from the PLA."