As Taiwan awaits Washington’s decision on whether it will sell the Lockheed Martin F-16C/D aircraft Taipei has been seeking since 2007, rumors are now emerging that Taipei’s request for preferred radar system for an upgrade program for its ageing F-16A/Bs might also be encountering difficulties.
The US government is scheduled to announce on Oct. 1 — national day in the People’s Republic of China — whether it will proceed with the sale of 66 F-16C/Ds to Taiwan or limit itself to a US$4.5 billion upgrade for Taiwan’s 144 F-16A/Bs acquired in the early 1990s.
Taiwan does not regard the upgrades as an alternative to the F-16C/Ds and maintains that the two options must be exercised to ensure a balance of air power in the Taiwan Strait.
In addition to new electronic warfare systems, radio, engines and missiles, one key component of the upgrade would be the acquisition of advanced active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a “drop in” modular system regarded as an ideal option to give aging fighter fleets the world over a second life, especially as countries are becoming increasingly reluctant to acquire the problem-plagued F-35.
Aside from nearly doubling the range of the standard mechanically scanned array (MSA) radar currently used on the F-16, AESA radars can operate in all weather and provide multifunction, ultra-high resolution air-to-air and air-to-ground coverage.
However, US officials are divided on whether to provide Taiwan with AESA technology over fears of possible technological transfer to China. One US source recently referred to the AESA program as currently being “off the radar” in Washington, with no movement on an eventual release.
Defense experts nevertheless believe the AESA has a better chance of being released as a consolation prize if the US turns down Taiwan’s request for the F-16C/Ds.
A senior defense industry official involved in the F-16 program confirmed to the Taipei Times at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition yesterday that the Taiwanese Air Force had signaled its intent to Washington to purchase a total of 144 AESA radar units to retrofit all its F-16A/Bs.
The likeliest candidate to provide Taiwan with ASEA radar is Raytheon, with its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR), with Northrop Grumman’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) the other option. Both are optimized to fit F-16 aircraft.
If Taiwan failed to obtain AESA radar, an alternative would be less advanced updates to the current ones used on its F-16s.
Speaking at the Paris Air Show in late June, Mark Kula, vice president for tactical airborne systems at Raytheon said the company hoped to have “some sort of go ahead” on a production contract for the RACR “within the year.”
Defense analysts then said the first customer would be either Taiwan or South Korea, which are both seeking to modernize their F-16s.
Drew Robbins, manager of the F-16 radar programs at Raytheon, told the Taipei Times yesterday that the RACR was fully developed and operational and that a number of countries in Asia had expressed interest buying it, though no orders had been placed yet.
He would not provide figures on cost per unit.
Asked if costs or other considerations were behind the apparently stalled efforts to secure AESA radar for Taiwan, officials at Raytheon denied this was the case, adding that the problem was more political and set in Washington.
SHORT-TERM OUTLOOK: The Chinese military would most likely focus on rebuilding its organization and leadership in the next few years, experts said Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) military purge has reduced the risks of a planned war against Taiwan, yet increased the danger of a conflict sparked by a miscalculation or accident, Taiwanese experts said yesterday. They made the comments at a seminar on the Fifth Plenary Session of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) 20th Central Committee held by the research group Secure Taiwan Associate Corp (STA) in Taipei. The wholesale sacking of Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) officers and managers of the aerospace and defense industry is sure to set back Xi’s timetable to prepare the PLA to launch an invasion of Taiwan
BATTLE-TESTED: Czech companies’ drones, software and navigation systems have been tested in the Ukraine war, while other countries’ are lab-tested, a Czech ex-official said Czech manufacturers are interested in setting up drone assembly lines in Taiwan, former Czech Chamber of Deputies president Marketa Pekarova Adamova told a forum in Taipei yesterday. Adamova made the comments at the inauguration of the Global UAV Academy, an organization dedicated to international cooperation in drone supply chains, technological certification and pilot training. The Research Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology said the Czech Republic is the largest importer of Taiwanese drones and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) components. Adamova, who transitioned to the defense industry after retiring from politics, said the Roman adage “si vis pacem, para bellum” — “If you
STAY VIGILANT: An aircraft carrier and battle group were located to the east of the Philippines, while other ships were identified off the east and southeast coast of Taiwan China has more than 50 naval and other official vessels operating in a wide swath of sea stretching from southern Japan down to Taiwan and off the Philippines, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said on Wednesday, calling the threat level “obvious.” Taiwan is stepping up efforts to issue details and maps depicting locations where Chinese warships and coast guard vessels operate. “We are staying vigilant about their activities,” Wu said. “The simultaneous threat to Taiwan, Japan and the Philippines is obvious.” The remarks accompanied a map he posted on X showing the locations of 53 ships, 34 of them navy warships,
WORRIES PILE UP: The planned extension would generate nearly 10 million cubic meters of excavated soil, the disposal of which has not been explained, a former EPA official said Yilan County residents, backed by civic groups, on Wednesday filed an administrative lawsuit to overturn the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for the Yilan-bound high-speed rail (HSR) extension. They filed the lawsuit after the Executive Yuan on Sept. 11 rejected an administrative appeal. Former Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) deputy minister and lawyer Thomas Chan (詹順貴) said the project’s EIA review was one of the hastiest he had ever seen during his 30-year career in environmental law. Construction of the line would generate nearly 10 million cubic meters of excavated earth and rock, the disposal of which has not yet been explained to the
RSS