The Ministry of National Defense (MND) has proposed a NT$284 billion (US$8.75 billion) plan to build seven attack submarines using an improved design based on the completed Hai Kun (海鯤), or “Narwhal,” prototype submarine, a source with knowledge of the matter said yesterday.
The plan — which has the support of high-ranking officials — falls under the ministry’s annual budget proposal that is to be submitted to the Executive Yuan, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The new submarines are designed to fire heavy torpedoes and Harpoon missiles, while the Hai Kun is only capable of firing heavy torpedoes, and they would feature better combat systems, the source said.
Photo: Lee Hui-chou, Taipei Times
These improvements mean the seven submarines would be substantially more expensive to produce than the Hai Kun, the source added.
The new submarines would be built in batches of three, two and two from next year to 2039, with an 18-month gap planned between each to integrate new improvements into the next batch, the source said.
The first of the new submarines would enter into production in 2026 and the second the following year, assuming the Hai Kun’s acceptance trials go according to plan, they said.
The ministry’s budget proposal for next year, which also includes several major investments in weapons systems, would be formally submitted early next month for the Executive Yuan’s approval, the source said.
The government’s general budget is expected to be filed for the Legislative Yuan to review by late next month, they said.
A separate source said navy top brass have long favored the submarine variant of Harpoon missiles, as the weapon inflicted devastating damage on a target ship in 2014.
The Chien Lung-class submarines in service can carry 28 torpedoes or missiles each, while the planned submarines are believed to be able to carry at least that number, the source said, also speaking on condition of anonymity.
With the seven submarines and the Hai Kun, Taiwan would have the ability to fire a least 224 additional projectiles, they said.
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
RSS