The US government has approved an export license for an advanced targeting tool, used to identify targets and guide bombs, so that a live demonstration can be given at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition, a government source said yesterday.
The Ministry of National Defense had sent many requests to Washington for it to sell a state-of-the-art forward-looking infrared (FLIR) targeting pod — the FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HD — but has been turned down every time, the source said on condition of anonymity.
The granting of the license by the US government came as a complete surprise, the source said, adding that targeting pod maker FLIR Systems is to stage a live demonstration at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition, which opens on Thursday.
The move by the US suggests it might be willing to sell Taiwan the targeting pods at some point, the source added.
Considered by experts to be the most advanced equipment of its kind, the pod is utilized by the US Navy on Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers and Independence-class littoral combat ships, the source said.
The US Coast Guard use the pod on long-range search aircraft, according to the source, as the pod’s thermal imaging enables weapons platforms to detect and engage targets day or night and in all weather conditions, also facilitating search and rescue missions.
The Coast Guard Administration utilizes several types of SeaFLIR III+ pods on 3,000-tonne and 1,000-tonne patrol vessels, a contractor, who asked to remain anonymous, said.
New 600-tonne, 1,000-tonne and 4,000-tonne vessels under construction are to be equipped with more advanced pods — the SeaFLIR 280-HD — that outperform those found on Republic of China Navy warships, the contractor said.
Meanwhile, defense expo organizers said that the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is to display improved models of two uncrewed aerial vehicles: the Jiangshian anti-radiation drone and the Tengyun long-range armed drone.
The organizers added that a cooperative to test and evaluate the military’s indigenous aviation program is to be formally announced.
The cooperative is made up of 11 foundations and government groups that aim to secure international certification for Taiwan’s aerospace industry, they said.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
Prosecutors in New Taipei City yesterday indicted 31 individuals affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) for allegedly forging thousands of signatures in recall campaigns targeting three Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. The indictments stem from investigations launched earlier this year after DPP lawmakers Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧) and Lee Kuen-cheng (李坤城) filed criminal complaints accusing campaign organizers of submitting false signatures in recall petitions against them. According to the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office, a total of 2,566 forged recall proposal forms in the initial proposer petition were found during the probe. Among those
ECHOVIRUS 11: The rate of enterovirus infections in northern Taiwan increased last week, with a four-year-old girl developing acute flaccid paralysis, the CDC said Two imported cases of chikungunya fever were reported last week, raising the total this year to 13 cases — the most for the same period in 18 years, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. The two cases were a Taiwanese and a foreign national who both arrived from Indonesia, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Deputy Director Lee Chia-lin (李佳琳) said. The 13 cases reported this year are the most for the same period since chikungunya was added to the list of notifiable communicable diseases in October 2007, she said, adding that all the cases this year were imported, including 11 from
The Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant’s license has expired and it cannot simply be restarted, the Executive Yuan said today, ahead of national debates on the nuclear power referendum. The No. 2 reactor at the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County was disconnected from the nation’s power grid and completely shut down on May 17, the day its license expired. The government would prioritize people’s safety and conduct necessary evaluations and checks if there is a need to extend the service life of the reactor, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference. Lee said that the referendum would read: “Do
RSS