Military revamps missile command

The military will activate a new missile command on Jan. 1 incorporating air-defense missiles from the army and land-based, anti-ship missiles from the navy, defense sources said yesterday.

The command, based on the army's current missile control authority, is to preside over the largest number of premium missiles in the armed forces.

The command might also become an independent unit in the future, similar to the the Chinese military's second artillery corps, if it develops as planned.

Missiles to be placed under the command's authority include the locally built Tien Kung-series missiles and the Hawk and Patriot PAC-2 Plus missiles purchased from the US, which are the army's primary air-defense weaponry and which are attached to the army missile control.

The Patriot PAC-3 missile system, which the military has announced it intends to purchase, will also be assigned to the command.

The land-based, Hsiung Feng-series anti-ship missiles will be the only weapons system that the command will take over from the other services. These missiles are currently under navy control.

The command is not expected to encounter problems absorbing the missiles from the army's missile control as the missiles have been under a unified system of control for many years.

But the command might not fare so well in its use of the anti-ship missiles to be transferred from the navy, and the navy had been reluctant to turn over all its Hsiung Feng-series missiles to the command.

The army's air-defense missiles are the first to be taken over by the missile command when it is inaugurated on Jan. 1.

But the navy's anti-ship missiles will not change hands until July 1. By then, the combined number of missiles will number well over 2,000.

The command, to be headed by a two-star army general, will operate from the army's general headquarters, and is effectively an upgrading of the army's missile control, now led by a one-star general.

A defense official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said initial plans for the command incorporated all major air-defense missiles from the three services.

"If the missile command had been built according to the original plan, it could have become a virtually independent missile force. But both the air force and the navy were not happy about the fact that the command was to be controlled by the army. They were quite reserved about the scope of the changes," the official said.

"The air force and navy had doubts about whether the army had the ability to command and control their missile systems. The doubts were reasonable considering that the army is the weakest of the three services in command and control infrastructure," he said.

"The army is the only service to benefit from the change. It could get an extra two-star general as well as a number of lower-ranked positions, which makes a great difference considering that personnel cuts across the services start next year," he added.

As a result of objections from the air force, the command was not provided with its missile systems, such as the land-based Sparrow air-defense missile.