Taiwan's armed forces are likely to get a significant boost in the wake of a deal concluded between a leading US defense contractor and the Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (漢翔航空).
The deal, agreed on the sidelines of the Taipei Aerospace Technology Exhibition, involves the joint development of an advanced communications system for the military. That system will significantly boost combat coordination among divisions of the armed forces.
Iowa-based Rockwell Collins, which makes military communication and aviation electronics, on Thursday agreed to partner with Aerospace Industrial in the production of a so-called advanced tactical data-link system for Taiwan, according to executives from Northrop Grumman, which is also involved in the project.
Inclusion of the data-link system into Taiwan's defense forces would significantly upgrade and integrate the communications and flow of information between Taiwan's air, sea and land forces, the executives said. Foreign military forces allied with the US and equipped with the system would be able to enjoy 90 percent compatibility in communication links with US forces, providing a significant boost to the effectiveness of joint operations, according to Northrop Grumman executives.
Aerospace Industrial executives were unwilling to comment, saying only that they preferred to remain "low key" on the deal as it involved issues of national defense and as other local firms were still interested.
Executives from Rockwell Collins declined to either deny or confirm the deal, saying only that dialogue with Aerospace Industrial was ongoing.
The potential for enhanced coordination capabilities between Taiwan and US forces in times of crisis will most likely anger China, which opposes all military arms sales to Taiwan.
But according to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, which is under the US Department of Defense and oversees military sales to foreign countries, "the proposed sale of this equipment and support will not affect the basic military balance in the region."
The agreement between Aerospace Industrial and Rockwell Collins comes less than a month after the agency revealed that Taiwan had requested 50 Joint Tactical Information Distribution System (JTIDS) terminals, which Rockwell Collins makes. The agency estimated the cost of the purchase at US$725 million and said the prime integration contractor would be selected by the US government through competitive procurement.
The JTIDS, which is employed by the US military, can provide secure, digital, high-volume data flow between all operational units in the field. But Rockwell Collins executives said that the specifics of the proposed system would not make it compatible with JTIDS equipment employed by US forces.
Partnering with Aerospace Industrial makes sense, said Northrop Grumman executives, as successfully developing a communications system for Taiwan's military and integrating it into vehicles like the four E-2T airborne early warning planes, and major air and naval platforms would require local support.
Northrop Grumman made the four E-2Ts the US has already supplied to Taiwan and is working on another two craft that will be in service with the air force by 2005, said an executive.
Aerospace Industrial, which was founded in 1969, has produced 130 Indigenous Defense Fighters for the Air Force.
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