The NT$47 billion (US$1.69 billion) budget allotted by the air force for fiscal 2022 to 2027 is to be used to purchase assorted US missiles — ranging from the AGM-88 to the AGM-84H — for its fleet of F-16 jets, which can only carry US-made armaments, the air force said yesterday.
The funding of the “Project to Obtain Ranged Precision Armaments for the F-16 Jet” is in line with the military’s strategy of “defense first, layered deterrence” and the Ministry of National Defense’s “Joint Air Denial” program, the air force said.
The goal is to effectively paralyze targets that pose a threat to Taiwan and to reduce the enemy’s anti-air capabilities, it said.
While the air force has only budgeted NT$550 million for the program in fiscal 2022, the budget is between NT$3.3 billion and NT$21.4 billion a year from 2023 to 2027.
A source speaking on condition of anonymity said that it is highly likely the purchased missiles would be the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile (HARM), the glide bomb AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon (JSOW), the AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response, the B variant of the AGM-99 and the C variant of the AGM-154.
The source said they deduced the list based on past practices in which the Ministry of National Defense formally announces proposed purchases after the Defense Security Cooperation Agency of the US Department of Defense has released details of an arms sale.
The administration of former US president Donald Trump in June 2017 sold Taiwan AGM-88 HARM and AGM-154 JSOW missiles, as well as AGM-84H missiles last year for a total of US$1.41 billion, the source said.
The ministry’s five-year armament plan also says that it intends to acquire the AGM-84H, the AGM-88B and the AGM-154C for the F-16 jet, the source said.
The ministry’s budget also sets aside NT$21 million from fiscal 2022 to fiscal 2025 to acquire four General Atomics Aeronautical MQ-9B drones, which then-minister of national defense Yen De-fa (嚴德發) in November last year said were for “monitoring purposes,” although the budget item is listed as “armed” drones.
The Air Force Command Headquarters’ budget proposal says that it intends to establish a fleet of drones that are capable of staying in the air for prolonged periods, have real-time data and image transmission capabilities, can operate in the day and at night, and can be armed.
The drones, if armed, could provide support during a defensive battle, the air force said.
Meanwhile, the navy has set aside NT$43.1 billion to upgrade its Kangding-class frigates’ anti-air and anti-missile capabilities, the most expansive upgrades made to the frigates in their 25 years of service.
The navy has spread the budget across nine years with the upgrades expected to be completed in 2030.
The frigates are currently armed with Hsiung Feng II anti-surface missiles and Sea Chapparal anti-air missiles.
However, the Sea Chapparal missiles have a range of only 8km and the navy wants to replace them with the domestically developed shipborne variant of the Tien Chien II (Skysword) missile system, which has a range of up to 30km.
This story has been amended since it was first published.
DEFENSE: The first set of three NASAMS that were previously purchased is expected to be delivered by the end of this year and deployed near the capital, sources said Taiwan plans to procure 28 more sets of M-142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), as well as nine additional sets of National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), military sources said yesterday. Taiwan had previously purchased 29 HIMARS launchers from the US and received the first 11 last year. Once the planned purchases are completed and delivered, Taiwan would have 57 sets of HIMARS. The army has also increased the number of MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) purchased from 64 to 84, the sources added. Each HIMARS launch pod can carry six Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems, capable of
TRAJECTORY: The severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday, and would influence the nation to varying degrees, a forecaster said The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it would likely issue a sea warning for Tropical Storm Podul tomorrow morning and a land warning that evening at the earliest. CWA forecaster Lin Ting-yi (林定宜) said the severe tropical storm is predicted to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday and Thursday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving west at 21kph and packing sustained winds of 108kph and gusts of up to 136.8kph, the CWA said. Lin said that the tropical storm was about 1,710km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, with two possible trajectories over the next one
Tropical Storm Podul strengthened into a typhoon at 8pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with a sea warning to be issued late last night or early this morning. As of 8pm, the typhoon was 1,020km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving west at 23kph. The storm carried maximum sustained winds of 119kph and gusts reaching 155kph, the CWA said. Based on the tropical storm’s trajectory, a land warning could be issued any time from midday today, it added. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said Podul is a fast-moving storm that is forecast to bring its heaviest rainfall and strongest
CRITICISM: It is deeply regrettable that China, which is pursuing nuclear weapons, has suppressed Taiwan, which is pursuing peace, a government official said Representative to Japan Lee Yi-yang (李逸洋) yesterday accused Beijing of interference after Taiwan’s official delegation to the Nagasaki Peace Memorial Ceremony in Japan was assigned seating in the “international non-governmental organizations [NGO]” area. “Taiwan is by no means an international NGO, but a sovereign nation that is active on the international stage,” Lee said. Lee and Chen Ming-chun (陳銘俊), head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Fukuoka, attended the ceremony in Nagasaki yesterday, which marked the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of the city. That followed Lee’s attendance at the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Ceremony on Wednesday
RSS