The Ministry of National Defense said it would stick to a plan to buy 120 US-made M1A1 Abrams tanks in an estimated NT$33 billion (US$1.08 billion) deal.
The Republic of China (ROC) Army Command Headquarters Office said the program’s budget allocation would be made in 2017, with delivery expected to begin in 2020.
The army plans to purchase 120 second-hand M1A1 tanks from the US military to replace Taiwan’s aging M60A3 and CM-11 “Brave Tiger” main battle tanks and bolster infantry divisions’ combat strength.
Upon delivery, the 120 tanks are to constitute two battalions for deployment at the main ROC infantry base in Hsinchu County’s Hukou Township (湖口), which is tasked with the defense of the capital, Taipei, and northern Taiwan, army officials said.
The original plan was to buy the newer M1A2 tank, which has enhanced electronics and weapons control systems, but it came at a higher price tag, officials said.
The ministry elected to go with M1A1s for the estimated expense of NT$33 billion.
Officials said this follows the path taken by Australia, which upgraded its infantry with second-hand M1A1 tanks that had been kept in storage.
The US performed complete performance tests and systems checks before delivery, it added.
The ministry said it has already made public its intention to pursue the plan, with a tender announcement — labeled as project TLP04001 and calling for the procurement of new main battle tanks — placed on the government’s official procurement Web site.
However, the tender notice did not include the estimated price, or the total number of tanks by the military.
An army official who requested anonymity said the post served to conform with the Government Procurement Act (政府採購法), and referred to the purchase of US M1A1 tanks.
Top military officials have expressed concerns that Taiwan’s aging tanks are no match for China’s new Type 99 and other advanced main battle tanks deployed by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, in terms of firepower, defense and other performance indices.
The Army Command Headquarters had presented plans in recent years to upgrade its tanks and other armored vehicles, it said.
A delay arose because most budget allocations went toward acquiring items with higher priority, including AH-64E Apache and UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.
TOO TIRED: Investigators found that the pilot’s lack of alertness could be attributed to a lack of sleep the previous night, when he had slept with his child It was a copilot’s inappropriate operation of the aircraft and the pilot’s insufficient alertness that led to a hard landing of a China Airlines cargo flight on Dec. 13, 2018, the Taiwan Transportation Safety Board said yesterday. Flight CI6844, a Boeing 747-409 which departed from Hong Kong International Airport, landed on the pre-threshold area of runway L5 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, about 21m before the head of the runway, an investigation report said. The hard landing damaged three runway lights, but none of the personnel on board sustained any injuries, the report said. When approaching the runway, the copilot failed to maintain
DISTRUST WARRANTED? The WHO is under China’s control and has become a useless organization, while data from China cannot be trusted, a Control Yuan member said China’s demand that the novel coronavirus that emerged in Wuhan, Hubei Province, not be referred to with names like the “Wuhan pneumonia” betrays its lack of confidence in itself, Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) told lawmakers yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Yi-yu (蔡易餘) asked Su, during a interpellation at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, for his view on China’s attempts to redeem its national image in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. These included China’s efforts to “bleach” its image, including having WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus publicly praise its handling of the COVID-19 outbreak, and thanking it for buying time
REPEAT OFFENDER: The man went outside for exercise on Wednesday and then left his home on Saturday with his girlfriend, officials said A New Taipei City man has been fined NT$400,000 (US$13,221) and ordered into government quarantine after breaking home quarantine for a second time on Saturday. The 25-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳) returned to Taiwan on Sunday last week and was ordered to home quarantine until Sunday. He was seen leaving his home on a scooter with his girlfriend on Saturday, three days after he was fined NT$200,000 for going outside to exercise, police said. Chen has now been placed in a quarantine center arranged by the district office and health center of the district where he lives, police said. Police warned the public
Taipei residents who stay at hotels in the city during their 14-day mandatory quarantine period are eligible to apply for the city’s NT$7,000 subsidy, with online applications to be launched next week. Taipei Deputy Mayor Vivian Huang (黃珊珊) on Monday said Taipei residents who have COVID-19 Health Declaration and Home Quarantine Notice dated after March 19 and a quarantine hotel receipt for the dates covered by the quarantine period, would be eligible for the subsidy. The Taipei City Government on Sunday told the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) that so many city residents are under home quarantine that about 90 percent of
RSS