The Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has completed work on a project codenamed “Strong Bow” (強弓), an extended-range version of the Tien Kung III (天弓三, “Sky Bow” III) surface-to-air defense missile, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said in a report to the legislature.
Testing of the missile’s combat readiness was completed in February, and preparations have begun for mass production and incorporation of the missile into the armed forces’ restructuring plan, the ministry said.
The report to the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee was written following a request from legislators across party lines for an update on the institute’s progress on developing defensive responses to missile attacks.
Photo courtesy of the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology
During testing, the missile intercepted objects at altitudes of up to 70km, a source said on condition of anonymity.
A second variant of the Strong Bow, currently in testing, has an estimated intercept altitude of 100km, the person said.
The maximum intercept height of Sky Bow III and Patriot III missiles — both of which are in service in Taiwan — is 40km.
“Although the Strong Bow is referred to as an extended-range Sky Bow III missile, the two are different systems,” the person said.
“The Strong Bow is equipped with a domestically produced, high-efficiency microwave power amplifier, which can intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles and other objects at much greater altitudes than the US-made Patriot missile,” the person said.
The Strong Bow also uses a new type of cone cover, along with a composite material for the fuselage and a more efficient propulsion system, all of which are an improvement on the Sky Bow III’s performance, the source said.
The Chungshan Institute had been testing the Strong Bow at a missile base in Pingtung County’s Jiupengwan Bay (九鵬灣), where it also might be testing a longer-range version of the Hsiung Feng II-E (雄風, “Brave Wind”) missile, under the project name Hsiung Sheng (雄昇), the person said.
Part of those tests included simulated intercepts of a ballistic missile, which was first successfully tested at the site on Aug. 18 last year, the source said.
The ministry said it is bolstering its overall missile defense network to provide it with an improved defensive advantage against enemy threats.
Taiwan has arranged for about 8 million barrels of crude oil, or about one-third of its monthly needs, to be shipped from the Red Sea this month to bypass the Strait of Hormuz and ease domestic supply pressures, CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) said yesterday. The state-run oil company has worked with Middle Eastern suppliers to secure routes other than the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20 percent of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas typically passes, CPC chairman Fang Jeng-zen (方振仁) said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. Suppliers in Saudi Arabia have indicated they
A global survey showed that 60 percent of Taiwanese had attained higher education, second only to Canada, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan easily surpassed the global average of 43 percent and ranked ahead of major economies, including Japan, South Korea and the US, data from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) for 2024 showed. Taiwan has a high literacy rate, data released by the ministry showed. As of the end of last year, Taiwan had 20.617 million people aged 15 or older, accounting for 88.5 percent of the total population, with a literacy rate of 99.4 percent, the data
CCP ‘PAWN’? Beijing could use the KMT chairwoman’s visit to signal to the world that many people in Taiwan support the ‘one China’ principle, an academic said Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) yesterday arrived in China for a “peace” mission and potential meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), while a Taiwanese minister detailed the number of Chinese warships currently deployed around the nation. Cheng is visiting at a time of increased Chinese military pressure on Taiwan, as the opposition-dominated Legislative Yuan stalls a government plan for US$40 billion in extra defense spending. Speaking to reporters before going to the airport, Cheng said she was going on a “historic journey for peace,” but added that some people felt uneasy about her trip. “If you truly love Taiwan,
NEW LOW: The council in 2024 based predictions on a pessimistic estimate for the nation’s total fertility rate of 0.84, but last year that rate was 0.69, 17 percent lower An expected National Development Council (NDC) report expects the nation’s population to drop below 12 million by 2065, with the old-age dependency ratio to top 100 percent sooner than 2070, sources said yesterday. The council is slated to release its latest population projections in August, using an ultra-low fertility model, the sources said. The previous report projected that Taiwan’s population would fall to 14.37 million by 2070, but based on a new estimate of the total fertility rate (TFR) — the average number of children born to a woman over her lifetime — the population is expected to reach 12 million by
RSS