The army is to test-fire its Patriot missiles over the course of the coming week. It will be the first time the US-made defensive missile will be tested by the army since it took delivery of the system in 1997, a defense official confirmed yesterday.
"The test-firing will be held over the morning of any of the following days -- June 20, June 21, June 22 and June 26 -- depending on weather conditions," the official said.
During the test-firing, the first Patriot PAC-II Plus missiles will be launched at an aircraft. Later launches would attempt the much more complicated task of intercepting an incoming missile, the official said.
During the 1990 to 1991 Gulf War the Patriot built up a record of successfully intercepting ballistic missiles, but its overall interception rate against ballistic missiles is judged to be insufficient for complete security. A group of US technicians have reportedly arrived in Taiwan to assist with the test.
The tests are to be held at a top-security missile test site in Chiupeng township, Pingtung County, which faces the Pacific Ocean. The missiles are deployed in three batteries around the greater Taipei area.
Over the four days which the military has announced as possible dates for the missile test, aircraft and ships are to be forbidden from entering sea and air space around the test area. Major General Huang Shuey-sheng (
The test-firing of the Patriot missiles was initially reported by the local media as the first-ever of its kind outside US territory. But Israel had preceded Taiwan when it test-fired its Patriot missiles several months ago.
The Patriot missile test was originally scheduled for April to coincide with the Hankuang No. 17 exercise, but the plan was changed later for undeclared reasons.
The military leadership expects the test to provide some vital data about how the Patriot missile intercepts a missile, a defense official said. The Patriot is currently the only missile in the army's inventory that is capable of intercepting other missiles.
To develop an indigenous anti-missile capability, the Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) is now working on an anti-ballistic missile in a project code-named "Chenhsi." The project is said to be near success and a test-firing of the anti-ballistic missile will reportedly be conducted toward the end of the year.
If the test-firing is successful, the missile is expected to enter mass production in five years, it was reported. Besides the anti-ballistic missile, the Chung Shan Institute is also developing a variety of new missiles, including the Hsiung Feng-IIE cruise missile and the Hsiung Feng-III supersonic anti-ship missile.
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