An imminent decision by the South Korean Air Force on the type of advanced radar system it will adopt for the upgrade of its 135 KF-16C/Ds will likely have a ripple effect in Taiwan as the latter mulls options for the upgrade of its 145 F-16A/Bs.
Up until recently, only one US defense firm, Raytheon Corp, had been cleared by the US government to export Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars, one of the main components in the US$5.8 billion arms package for Taiwan notified to US Congress in September last year.
However, the US Department of State last month gave Northrop Grumman Corp a permanent export license (DSP-5) for its own version of the AESA radar — known as the Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) — for the South Korean and Taiwanese bids.
Raytheon had obtained a DSP-5 for its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR) in 2008, US-based Defense News reported earlier this month.
The DSP-5 license is the first step in the foreign military sales process and allows for the release of unclassified technical information and data to a foreign country.
With this decision, Taipei will now be able to choose between the two manufacturers as it negotiates the acquisition of the 176 AESA radars included in the notification.
Although the air force was informed by the Executive Yuan that it would only be given US$3.7 billion for the F-16 upgrade — US$1.5 billion less than the US$5.2 billion proposed in the notification — the Ministry of National Defense remains committed to obtain the advanced radar, a multifunction sensor that, among other things, allows for the targeting of multiple objects simultaneously.
Taipei has also not abandoned its plans to procure 66 of the more advanced F-16C/D, efforts that have been unsuccessful since 2007.
Reporting from the Singapore Air Show earlier this month, UK-based Jane’s Defence Weekly said that the US Air Force, which announced a program on Feb. 10 to upgrade 350 F-16C/Ds by 2020, would likely pick the radar adopted by the South Korean Air Force. By doing so, the US Air Force would lower the price tag for its retrofits, as South Korea would be the one paying for the integration costs.
Taiwan is also likely to adopt whichever AESA system is picked by South Korea, the defense magazine said.
Temperatures in northern Taiwan are forecast to reach as high as 30°C today, as an ongoing northeasterly seasonal wind system weakens, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said yesterday that with the seasonal wind system weakening, warmer easterly winds would boost the temperature today. Daytime temperatures in northern Taiwan and Yilan County are expected to range from 28°C to 30°C today, up about 3°C from yesterday, Tseng said. According to the CWA, temperature highs in central and southern Taiwan could stay stable. However, the weather is expected to turn cooler starting tonight as the northeasterly wind system strengthens again
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday expressed “grave concerns” after Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) reiterated the city-state’s opposition to “Taiwanese independence” during a meeting with Chinese Premier Li Qiang (李強). In Singapore on Saturday, Wong and Li discussed cross-strait developments, the Singaporean Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. “Prime Minister Wong reiterated that Singapore has a clear and consistent ‘one China’ policy and is opposed to Taiwan independence,” it said. MOFA responded that it is an objective fact and a common understanding shared by many that the Republic of China (ROC) is an independent, sovereign nation, with world-leading
COOLING OFF: Temperatures are expected to fall to lows of about 20°C on Sunday and possibly 18°C to 19°C next week, following a wave of northeasterly winds on Friday The Central Weather Administration (CWA) on Sunday forecast more rain and cooler temperatures for northern Taiwan this week, with the mercury dropping to lows of 18°C, as another wave of northeasterly winds sweeps across the country. The current northeasterly winds would continue to affect Taiwan through today, with precipitation peaking today, bringing increased rainfall to windward areas, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng (劉沛滕) said. The weather system would weaken slightly tomorrow before another, stronger wave arrives on Friday, lasting into next week, Liu said. From yesterday to today, northern Taiwan can expect cool, wet weather, with lows of 22°C to 23°C in most areas,
Taiwan sweltered through its hottest October on record, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday, the latest in a string of global temperature records. The main island endured its highest average temperature since 1950, CWA forecaster Liu Pei-teng said. Temperatures the world over have soared in recent years as human-induced climate change contributes to ever more erratic weather patterns. Taiwan’s average temperature was 27.381°C as of Thursday, Liu said. Liu said the average could slip 0.1°C by the end of yesterday, but it would still be higher than the previous record of 27.009°C in 2016. "The temperature only started lowering around Oct. 18 or 19
RSS