During the night of May 4, the Ukrainian Air Force, using a newly supplied Patriot missile system, intercepted a Russian Kh-47M2 Kinzhal missile — an air-launched ballistic missile capable of reaching hypersonic speeds — over a region outside Kyiv. This was a huge milestone for Ukraine and a testament to the significant improvements made to its air defense network since the onset of the war. Previously, Ukrainian officials had said that they were unable to defend against Russian high-speed missiles without Western-supplied advanced air defense systems.
With a Ukrainian counteroffensive looming, Russia has once again intensified its bombardment of the nation. On May 1, Ukraine said that its air defenses had intercepted 15 of 18 cruise missiles launched from Russian strategic bombers.
The types of weapon systems used in a war matter, and the war in Ukraine has demonstrated the importance of advanced, albeit expensive, air defense systems in a prolonged conventional conflict. They offer interception capabilities that relatively cheap, mass-produced portable air defense systems cannot effectively provide.
These systems have greatly reduced the potency of Russian bombardments, especially as Ukraine needs to protect critical infrastructure and logistics ahead of its counteroffensive.
Ukraine’s recent successes in missile interception should also be attributed to NATO early warnings and intelligence sharing with Kyiv. NATO satellites and drones constantly surveil Russian bomber movements, greatly helping Ukraine anticipate the timing and direction of missile attacks. Without the element of surprise, Russia would have to increasingly rely on costlier hypersonic missiles to penetrate Ukraine’s air defenses.
Taiwan also plans to improve its air defense network with the Patriot missile system. Last year, the US proposed upgrading Taiwan’s existing Patriot systems with as many as 100 of Lockheed Martin’s hit-to-kill Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missiles.
Given the high cost of the missiles, some critics have said that they do not align with Taiwan’s asymmetrical defense strategy. This sentiment was shared by several military analysts during the early months of the war in Ukraine. They said that Ukraine should not be provided with advanced conventional weapons as Kyiv did not stand a chance in a conventional war.
With the benefit of hindsight, their arguments have been largely discredited. Ukrainian defenders have proven their ability to quickly learn and operate advanced weapon systems, such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, to exact devastating blows on Russia’s ability to mount large offensives.
University of St Andrews strategic studies professor Phillips O’Brien said that “what this war has shown is that a democratic, committed nation such as Ukraine can achieve things far more quickly and efficiently than a dictatorship.”
Similarly, Taiwan must also obtain such capabilities even when they come with a high price tag. Advanced conventional weapon systems will continue to play an important role in warfare, as well as a deterrent.
Publicizing the success of Ukraine’s air defense diminishes the propaganda value of “unstoppable” Chinese missile attacks on Taiwan. As debates surrounding national defense once again renew due to next year’s presidential election, voters should keep in mind the lessons from the Ukrainian war and not fall for those promoting the invincibility of the Chinese armed forces to intimidate Taiwan into submission.
Linus Chiou studies physics and history at the University of Virginia.
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
US President Donald Trump’s challenge to domestic American economic-political priorities, and abroad to the global balance of power, are not a threat to the security of Taiwan. Trump’s success can go far to contain the real threat — the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) surge to hegemony — while offering expanded defensive opportunities for Taiwan. In a stunning affirmation of the CCP policy of “forceful reunification,” an obscene euphemism for the invasion of Taiwan and the destruction of its democracy, on March 13, 2024, the People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) used Chinese social media platforms to show the first-time linkage of three new
If you had a vision of the future where China did not dominate the global car industry, you can kiss those dreams goodbye. That is because US President Donald Trump’s promised 25 percent tariff on auto imports takes an ax to the only bits of the emerging electric vehicle (EV) supply chain that are not already dominated by Beijing. The biggest losers when the levies take effect this week would be Japan and South Korea. They account for one-third of the cars imported into the US, and as much as two-thirds of those imported from outside North America. (Mexico and Canada, while
The military is conducting its annual Han Kuang exercises in phases. The minister of national defense recently said that this year’s scenarios would simulate defending the nation against possible actions the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) might take in an invasion of Taiwan, making the threat of a speculated Chinese invasion in 2027 a heated agenda item again. That year, also referred to as the “Davidson window,” is named after then-US Indo-Pacific Command Admiral Philip Davidson, who in 2021 warned that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the PLA to be ready to invade Taiwan by 2027. Xi in 2017
RSS