On Feb. 25, the second day of US President Donald Trump’s first state visit to India, he signed off on an arms deal package worth US$3.5 billion, which is expected to include 24 Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters for the Indian Navy and six Boeing AH-64E Apache attack helicopters for the Indian Army.
A report by Chinese-language online news outlet Up Media said that Taiwan is the US’ next target buyer.
In 2014, the Republic of China (ROC) Navy proposed purchasing new anti-submarine warfare helicopters from the US.
Since then, the US has been asking whether Taiwan is interested in procuring the MH-60R, which is manufactured by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky Aircraft.
Although Taiwan in 2015 rejected the US company’s offer of eight to 10 MH-60R helicopters at a price of about US$80 million each due to cost considerations, the navy still keeps the MH-60R on its procurement list because its fleet of anti-submarine helicopters is very old.
In 1991, Taiwan procured its first batch of 10 Sikorsky S-70C(M)-1 anti-submarine warfare helicopters through “Shen-ying Project I” to form the navy’s 701st Helicopter Squadron.
A decade later, the navy procured another 11 Sikorsky S-70C(M)-2 anti-submarine helicopters through “Shen-ying Project II,” bringing the navy’s number of helicopters in the S-70 series to 21.
Thirty years later, these helicopters are in critical danger due to material shortages and because manufacturing sources are disappearing. Their airframes and avionics systems have never undergone a mid-life upgrade.
Compared with the ROC Air Force’s Air Rescue Group, whose S-70C search-and-rescue helicopters were retired on Feb. 14 after 30 years of service, the navy still hangs on to the S-70C(M)-1 as a frontline helicopter although its combat capabilities are truly worrying.
Given the limited national defense budget, the Ministry of National Defense should evaluate whether procurement is Taiwan’s only option.
Taiwan could learn from Singapore, a nation that never hesitates to spend large sums on weapons and whose military expenditure is not restricted by its proportion of the GDP.
If Taiwan chooses to buy eight new MH-60Rs to replace its fleet, the navy’s 21 S-70C(M)-1/2 helicopters could probably be used for training purposes or replacement parts.
Moreover, as a large part of the national defense budget could go to domestically built surface warships and the “Indigenous Defense Submarine” program, there would hardly be any budget left to allocate to the procurement of new anti-submarine warfare helicopters or upgrade existing aircraft.
On the other hand, the navy has about 20 warships that are classed as 3,000 tonnes and above and are equipped with hangar facilities, so acquiring eight new MH-60R helicopters does not meet the needs of even a single fleet.
The navy should distance itself from the US’ political-commercial marketing strategy and follow the example of the Singaporean Navy, which does not waste government funds.
When Singapore took delivery of two new S-70B Seahawks in 2018, the country also decided to upgrade its navy’s six older Seahawks to the same standard. This means that Singapore only spent half the budget required to acquire eight of the latest S-70B Seahawks.
Perhaps Taiwan should opt for procuring three S-70C helicopters to supplement the three that have crashed, while upgrading its remaining 18.
It would benefit the public if the government could maximize its use of the national defense budget.
Chang Feng-lin is a doctoral student.
Translated by Chang Ho-ming
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