The army is to receive 1,240 tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided (TOW) 2B and 200 Javelin anti-tank guided missiles next year, the Ministry of National Defense’s budget showed, in a sign that Taiwan’s arms orders were not affected by the war in Ukraine.
The army allocated a budget for 1,700 TOW missiles to be delivered between 2018 and 2025, and 400 Javelin missiles with 42 command launch units to be delivered between 2019 and next year, the ministry’s general budget for fiscal year 2024 submitted to the Legislative Yuan showed.
The schedules in the published budget are well within the timetables disclosed to the legislature at the time the deals were announced.
Photo courtesy of Military News Agency
The nation has received 460 TOW 2B missiles and next year’s shipments would complete the order.
Taiwan has received half of the Javelin missiles it ordered, with the rest to arrive next year if the legislature approves the army’s proposed NT$400 million (US$12.5 million) allocation.
The defense ministry’s general budget for fiscal year 2024 showed that it is to buy from the US 11 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS), which are to be delivered next year.
The proposed NT$6.85 billion budget would fund the procurement of artillery systems, two training simulators and 64 Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACM) in addition to maintenance and operating costs, the ministry said in the document.
The acquisition would provide the armed forces with an artillery system capable of delivering long-range precision strikes against area targets and high mobility to repel an amphibious attack on the nation, the ministry said.
A tranche of 18 HIMARS, 864 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket Systems and 20 ATACMs are expected to be delivered by 2027 to replace a dropped bid for M109A6 self-propelled howitzers, it said.
With the new additions, the military can fire 114 full salvos of six rockets and 84 ATACM strikes, the ministry said.
The combined costs of the two arms packages and related maintenance were estimated to be NT$32.5 billion, it said.
Taiwan’s first group of 30 HIMARS operators and maintenance technicians are to be trained in the US and then return to become instructors, the ministry said, adding that it aims to create an indigenous capability to maintain the weapons.
Their training is scheduled to take place from February to October next year, the ministry said.
Meanwhile, the armed forces are to buy about NT$1.49 billion of helmets, bullet-resistant vests and ballistic plates in the next three years to equip conscripts who are expected to join the ranks following the reinstatement of the mandatory military draft, it said.
That figure includes NT$1.32 billion for the army, NT$47.7 million for the navy and NT$135 million for the air force, it said, adding that light arms and mortars would be purchased through a separate budget.
Additional reporting by Wu Su-wei
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-Wong tomorrow, which it said would possibly make landfall near central Taiwan. As of 2am yesterday, Fung-Wong was about 1,760km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, moving west-northwest at 26kph. It is forecast to reach Luzon in the northern Philippines by tomorrow, the CWA said. After entering the South China Sea, Typhoon Fung-Wong is likely to turn northward toward Taiwan, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said, adding that it would likely make landfall near central Taiwan. The CWA expects to issue a land
Taiwan’s exports soared to an all-time high of US$61.8 billion last month, surging 49.7 percent from a year earlier, as the global frenzy for artificial intelligence (AI) applications and new consumer electronics powered shipments of high-tech goods, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. It was the first time exports had exceeded the US$60 billion mark, fueled by the global boom in AI development that has significantly boosted Taiwanese companies across the international supply chain, Department of Statistics Director-General Beatrice Tsai (蔡美娜) told a media briefing. “There is a consensus among major AI players that the upcycle is still in its early stage,”
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said it is expected to issue a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong this afternoon and a land warning tomorrow. As of 1pm, the storm was about 1,070km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost point, and was moving west-northwest at 28 to 32kph, according to CWA data. The storm had a radius of 250km, with maximum sustained winds of 173kph and gusts reaching 209kph, the CWA added. The storm is forecast to pass near Luzon in the Philippines before entering the South China Sea and potentially turning northward toward Taiwan, the CWA said. CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張峻堯) said
PREPARATION: Ferry lines and flights were canceled ahead of only the second storm to hit the nation in November, while many areas canceled classes and work Authorities yesterday evacuated more than 3,000 people ahead of approaching Tropical Storm Fung-wong, which is expected to make landfall between Kaohsiung and Pingtung County this evening. Fung-wong was yesterday morning downgraded from a typhoon to a tropical storm as it approached the nation’s southwest coast, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, as it issued a land alert for the storm. The alert applies to residents in Tainan, Kaohsiung, Pingtung and Taitung counties, and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春). As of press time last night, Taichung, Tainan, Kaohsiung, and Yilan, Miaoli, Changhua, Yunlin, Pingtung and Penghu counties, as well as Chiayi city and county had
RSS