In a unconventional move, the military is to install 20mm Phalanx close-in weapons systems (CIWS) on ships to defend land-based radar installations, defense sources said yesterday.
It is expected that the US-made system will defend radar stations against anti-radiation missiles likely to be used by China in the event of war.
Radar stations, particularly those located on the tops of mountains, are generally believed to be priority targets for the Chinese military in any attempt to paralyze Taiwan's command and control system.
One of the most important radar stations the military wants to protect from attack is located on a Hsinchu County mountain that stands 2,000m above sea level.
But it is not clear whether the CIWS can function at this altitude as accurately as at sea level.
The move departs from the normal use of weapons within different branches of the military. Previously, a ship-borne weapons system like the CIWS would not have been used to defend land-based facilities.
A defense official who spoke on condition of anonymity said it was not known whether the military had studied the feasibility of adapting the CIWS to act as a land-based weapons system.
The official said, however, that it was not a bad idea to utilize the system in defending against anti-radiation missiles because it proved to be very effective against missiles while based at sea.
The CIWS hardware that will defend land-based radar stations is to be taken off key warships. The ships will soon be fitted with a newer version of the system. Besides engaging missiles, the newer CIWS has the ability to destroy surface targets.
The CIWS is not the only navy weapons system that has been adapted for other uses.
The combat systems on the five Yang-class destroyers yet to be decommissioned are to be transferred to the Knox-class frigates, which lack a rapid, integrated system for guiding weapons.
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