The Hsiung Feng III missile project’s former chief engineer, Chang Cheng (張誠), has said that the military needs to extend the altitude of the Tien Kung III air-defense missile to effectively counter any threats from China.
In response to the rising military threat from China, the Ministry of National Defense has taken steps to increase missile production, raising production of the Tien Kung III missile from 48 units to 96 units per year, a defense official speaking on condition of anonymity said yesterday.
China’s live-fire missile drills earlier this month showed that the Tien Kung III air-defense missile cannot reach the altitude necessary to intercept some Chinese strikes, Chang wrote on Facebook on Tuesday.
Photo: CNA
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) fired four Dongfeng-17 ballistic missiles into strategically key waters off eastern Taiwan where Taiwanese warships shelter and US forces would travel to counter a Chinese invasion, Chang said.
The missiles likely flew over Taiwan proper at an altitude of about 100km, the height they should reach when traveling the last one-third of their effective range, while the extended-range Tien Kung III has a service ceiling of 70km, he said.
This means the country’s premier air defense missile is incapable of shooting down Chinese ballistic missiles, he said.
“To intercept the PLA’s guided missiles at altitudes of 100km or more, the Chungshan Institute [of Science and Technology] would have to create a system capable of reaching 150km, similar to the US’ Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system,” Chang said.
The navy and the institute should join forces to design surface warships with an advanced air defense capability, mirroring that of the US Navy’s Advanced Electronic Guidance and Instrumentation System (AEGIS), he said.
AEGIS-equipped ships can defend a fleet from ballistic missiles by utilizing Standard Missile-2s and Standard Missile-6s, which are capable of defeating ballistic missiles, Chang said, adding that Hai Kung III missiles, which are close to being completed by the institute, could be used on such a warship.
A vertical launch system should also be built so that the theoretical warships could fire Hsiung Sheng missiles that have been designed for naval use, he said.
The anonymous defense official yesterday said that the extended-range Tien Kung III’s maximum interception height is probably 45km.
The missile launches seen on Thursday near the institute’s Jioupeng Military Base in Pingtung County’s Manjhou Township (滿州) were likely a test in which two extended-range missiles were fired at a simulated ballistic missile, the official said.
The military plans to establish 17 launch sites for the Tien Kung III missile before 2026 as part of Taiwan’s “porcupine” defense strategy, they said, adding that similar measures are being taken for anti-ship missiles.
The porcupine strategy refers to an asymmetric strategy that aims to make a territory difficult and costly to invade, which in part involves using anti-aircraft, anti-ship and anti-tank missiles against an opposing force’s large and expensive weapons platforms.
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo on Friday expressed concern over the rate at which China is diversifying its military exercises, the Financial Times (FT) reported on Saturday. “The rates of change on the depth and breadth of their exercises is the one non-linear effect that I’ve seen in the last year that wakes me up at night or keeps me up at night,” Paparo was quoted by FT as saying while attending the annual Sedona Forum at the McCain Institute in Arizona. Paparo also expressed concern over the speed with which China was expanding its military. While the US