Additional deployment of the locally developed Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) “Brave Wind” surface-to-surface supersonic anti-ship missile on LaFayette-class Kang Ding (康定級)and Chi Yang Knox-class(濟陽級) frigates within the year is being considered in the face of China’s increasing buildup of its naval capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The HF-3 supersonic surface-to-surface missile had been under research and development by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (中山科學研究院) for nearly two decades, and was made public in a military exercise in 2007.
While the ministry has not released any information on the capabilities of the HF-3 missile, military magazines surmise that the missile may reach speeds of between Mach 2.5 and Mach 3 at a range of between 150km and 200km.
Photo: Taipei Times
The magazines also report that the missile might be equipped with an active radar homing system and would be guided by the navy’s communication and observation systems in a wartime situation, and, as such, the missile could be considered a “fire-and-forget” type of missile.
According to an anonymous source who participated in the Hsiung Feng project, the HF-3 is more precise than either of its predecessors — the Hsiung Feng I and Hsiung Feng II — and is also superior in terms of its ability to penetrate the defensive capabilities of enemy ships.
Commenting on the tight lid the military has kept on the missile’s capabilities and specifications, the source said the difficulty in making supersonic missiles lay not in the principle, but in the missiles’ exterior form and calibrations.
Nations all over the world have classified such information, and Taiwan is no different, the source said.
The source added that the success of the Chungshan Institute in completing the missile was an important milestone for the nation.
The ministry said that the missile has already been deployed on the Cheng Kung-class(成功級) frigate, the navy’s Perry-class frigates, the locally researched and made Ching Chiang class(錦江級), and the Kuang Hua VI-class fast attack missile craft (光華六號).
The ministry is also considering deploying the HF-3 missiles on the two Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates that the ministry intends to purchase from the US next year, ministry officials said.
Meanwhile, the ministry has professed concern that China also appears interested in researching supersonic surface-to-surface missiles, adding that the success of such a venture was extremely important to the military balance in the Taiwan Strait.
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS