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Navy gets big slice of next armaments procurement budget

The navy will get the lion's share of the armaments procurement budget for the next five years, according to a five-year military buildup plan submitted to the Legislative Yuan by the Ministry of National Defense on Thursday.

The report says the military will spend NT$605.2 billion (US$17.9 billion) on arms procurement over the next five years, with the navy taking the biggest slice -- NT$98.8 billion. If the special budget for procurement of eight conventional submarines is factored into the equation, the navy's armaments purchase budget will hit its highest level since the 1980s.

According to the ministry report, the military will reduce the total number of servicemen by 45,000 over the next three years. As a result, the report says, the personnel costs will drop NT$5 billion in 2004, NT$6 billion in 2005 and another NT$6 billion in 2006. The military's annual personnel costs will then be kept at NT$120.7 billion per year.

The report estimates the military's total personnel costs for the next five years at NT$621.5 billion, accounting for 48.66 percent of the nation's total defense budget for the period.

According to the report, the air force will obtain the largest share of the total defense budget for the next five years at 24.55 percent, followed by the navy at 23.76 percent and the army at 18.92 percent.

In terms of arms procurement, the lion's share of the budget will be spent on information and electronic warfare equipment, accounting for 28 percent of the total. Air-combat weaponry systems will account for 18 percent of the budget; naval combat equipment, 14 percent; surface defense equipment, 12 percent; and educational training equipment, 3 percent.

The report also says the military will step up research and development of various types of guided missiles, anti-tank weapons and gunships, as well as unmanned aircraft and cutting edge nanotechnology and superconductivity defense technology.

The military will also strive to maintain supremacy in electronic warfare technology and to build up a comprehensive C4ISR architecture, the report says. Another priority is the establishment of an anti-submarine combat system and a coastal anti-submarine command center.
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