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Military to show off its hardware at exhibition

The military will feature its largest-ever display of its hardware in the 2003 Taipei Aerospace Technology Exhibition (TATE), which will be held between Aug. 14 and Aug. 17 at the Taipei World Trade Center, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday.

A total of 60 categories of military hardware, including weapon systems, simulators, and personal equipment, are to be showcased at the TATE, held every two years.

At a press conference yesterday, the ministry made public a full list of the hardware to be put on display. It said that the display is its largest in terms of scope and diversity.

The displayed items include products newly developed by the military. These products represent the military's technological advancement.

The most noteworthy of these products is a 40mm automated anti-aircraft gun that the Combined Logistics Command (CLC) developed on the basis of technology transferred from Singapore.

The 40mm gun development project, code-named "Tien Biao," is considered to be a landmark in the military's movement toward self-sufficiency in the acquisition of weapons systems.

The project was also a government-to-government deal between Taiwan and Singapore.

Its success could lead to further cooperation between the two countries in arms development.

The Tien Biao project started last year and was scheduled to be completed at the end of this year. Although the project is not completed yet, the CLC will present a prototype of the 40mm gun at the TATE.

The project had at first met with strong opposition from some lawmakers, all members on the defense committee of the legislature.

These lawmakers were concerned that the CLC did not follow the right procedures to prepare its budget for the project.

A CLC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it was very clear that these lawmakers were doing a favor for arms dealers who tried to sell a different type of anti-aircraft gun to the military.

The gun was the 35mm gun made by Switzerland.

The air force is currently the only user of the 35mm gun, while the navy and army have already used another type of 40mm gun bought from abroad.

After the CLC decided to develop the 40mm gun on its own, it was predicted that the 40mm gun was very likely to become a standard air-defense weapon for the three services.

Opposition from lawmakers to the 40mm gun development project did not last long because the CLC refused to give up under pressure and explained the situation to the press.

The CLC does not have any difficulty in producing the 40mm gun itself. What is difficult is providing ammunition for the gun.

Also, a radar system to be used to guide the 40mm gun is another important part of the project.

The system could be incorporated into other weapon systems already developed by the military.
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