Taiwan's military is eyeing the purchase of a US-made, light armored vehicle to transport its combat troops and is examining it this week at secret demonstrations at bases around the nation, an executive at a foreign defense firm said.
An executive from US-based General Motors Defense told the Taipei Times that besides the army, the nation's marines and airforce were interested in GM's eight-wheeled Light Armored Vehicle GMneration Three.
"The next GMneration of infantry fighting vehicles which [Taiwan] is currently pursuing is planned to be a wheeled vehicle," the source said in reference to the tracked vehicles Taiwan currently uses.
While the Marines are looking to it for greater mobility and speed, the airforce is hoping to beef up defense of its air bases, particularly as talk of opening direct air links between China and Taiwan heats up, said the executive.
The armored vehicle's top speed on land is around 110kmph. It has amphibious capability and a 105mm gun can be mounted atop the platform, making it a good choice for commanders looking for flexibility when faced with ejecting hostile forces from Taiwan's shores, he said.
"If a beachhead insurgence was made in the south, say in Kaohsiung, they could send Light Armored Vehicles down there because they can move them quickly without chopping up the roads," said the executive. If commanders wanted to move them another 20km down the beach, the amphibious vehicle could either travel on the road or "swim" over the water.
"It will essentially replace their CM-21s, which are the tracked armored personnel carriers," he said.
Taiwan already fields a six-wheeled light armored vehicle, the CM-31 as well as the tracked, US-made M113 armored personnel carrier.
While espousing the benefits of GM's Light Armored Vehicle, the executive admitted that Taiwan's Marines were still likely to purchase the latest in-service version of the M113, which holds up to 11 men and is employed principally as a ship-to-shore landing vehicle.
The executive said that there is space for both vehicles in Taiwan's armory because the two have different mission roles.
The Light Armored Vehicle, which carries a price tag of around US$1.1 million and holds three crew and seven troops, is being put to the test at undisclosed locations in Hsinchu and Kaohsiung throughout this week, the executive said.
GM Defense is looking to break into the local market with the vehicle, which it has been plugging to the military for around four years, he said, adding that the firm paid around US$70,000 to have a working model flown in for exhibition at last week's Taipei Aerospace and Technology Exhibition and for the demonstrations.
EXTRATERRITORIAL REACH: China extended its legal jurisdiction to ban some dual-use goods of Chinese origin from being sold to the US, even by third countries Beijing has set out to extend its domestic laws across international borders with a ban on selling some goods to the US that applies to companies both inside and outside China. The new export control rules are China’s first attempt to replicate the extraterritorial reach of US and European sanctions by covering Chinese products or goods with Chinese parts in them. In an announcement this week, China declared it is banning the sale of dual-use items to the US military and also the export to the US of materials such as gallium and germanium. Companies and people overseas would be subject to
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀) yesterday said that Intel Corp would find itself in the same predicament as it did four years ago if its board does not come up with a core business strategy. Chang made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions about the ailing US chipmaker, once an archrival of TSMC, during a news conference in Taipei for the launch of the second volume of his autobiography. Intel unexpectedly announced the immediate retirement of former chief executive officer Pat Gelsinger last week, ending his nearly four-year tenure and ending his attempts to revive the
WORLD DOMINATION: TSMC’s lead over second-placed Samsung has grown as the latter faces increased Chinese competition and the end of clients’ product life cycles Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) retained the No. 1 title in the global pure-play wafer foundry business in the third quarter of this year, seeing its market share growing to 64.9 percent to leave South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co, the No. 2 supplier, further behind, Taipei-based TrendForce Corp (集邦科技) said in a report. TSMC posted US$23.53 billion in sales in the July-September period, up 13.0 percent from a quarter earlier, which boosted its market share to 64.9 percent, up from 62.3 percent in the second quarter, the report issued on Monday last week showed. TSMC benefited from the debut of flagship
TENSE TIMES: Formosa Plastics sees uncertainty surrounding the incoming Trump administration in the US, geopolitical tensions and China’s faltering economy Formosa Plastics Group (台塑集團), Taiwan’s largest industrial conglomerate, yesterday posted overall revenue of NT$118.61 billion (US$3.66 billion) for last month, marking a 7.2 percent rise from October, but a 2.5 percent fall from one year earlier. The group has mixed views about its business outlook for the current quarter and beyond, as uncertainty builds over the US power transition and geopolitical tensions. Formosa Plastics Corp (台灣塑膠), a vertically integrated supplier of plastic resins and petrochemicals, reported a monthly uptick of 15.3 percent in its revenue to NT$18.15 billion, as Typhoon Kong-rey postponed partial shipments slated for October and last month, it said. The