Taiwan is developing a hypersonic missile based on the Ching Tien (擎天) supersonic cruise missile, and a Czech-made truck has been tentatively selected as its launch vehicle, a source said yesterday.
The Ching Tien, formerly known as Yun Feng (雲峰, “Cloud Peak”), is a domestically developed missile with a range of 1,200km to 2,000km being deployed in casemate-type positions as of last month, an official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.
The hypersonic missile to be derived from the Ching Tien would feature improved range and a mobile launch platform, while the latter would most likely be a 12x12 single chassis truck designed by the Czech company Tatra, they said.
Photo: EPA-EFE / the Ministry of National Defense
The Oshkosh M983 is another vehicle being considered for the missile, they said.
The military and the Ministry of National Defense-affiliated Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, the missile’s designer, are reaching out to manufacturers about potentially buying tactical trucks, the official said.
The hypersonic cruise missile would significantly boost the military’s deep strike capabilities, and using a mobile launch platform would make the system more survivable in combat, they said.
The military additionally seeks to obtain an 8x8 single-chassis vehicle to serve as a test launch vehicle for the hypersonic missile and potentially a replacement for the existing fleet of Taiwanese launch vehicles, they said.
The existing mobile launch platforms for domestically developed missiles are semitrucks that are more difficult to handle and time-consuming to deploy into position compared with single-chassis designs being used in Western militaries, they said.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of National Defense published a solicitation for the development of heat-resistant ceramic materials and high-performance rocket engines in a first hint of a hypersonic missile program.
Aerospace researcher and Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology adviser Su Yu-pen (蘇玉本) said at the time that Taiwan has the technological wherewithal to create a hypersonic weapon if composite materials could be designed for use in rocket engines.
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
In his National Day Rally speech on Sunday, Singaporean Prime Minister Lawrence Wong (黃循財) quoted the Taiwanese song One Small Umbrella (一支小雨傘) to describe his nation’s situation. Wong’s use of such a song shows Singapore’s familiarity with Taiwan’s culture and is a perfect reflection of exchanges between the two nations, Representative to Singapore Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said yesterday in a post on Facebook. Wong quoted the song, saying: “As the rain gets heavier, I will take care of you, and you,” in Mandarin, using it as a metaphor for Singaporeans coming together to face challenges. Other Singaporean politicians have also used Taiwanese songs
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
CLAMPING DOWN: At the preliminary stage on Jan. 1 next year, only core personnel of the military, the civil service and public schools would be subject to inspections Regular checks are to be conducted from next year to clamp down on military personnel, civil servants and public-school teachers with Chinese citizenship or Chinese household registration, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. Article 9-1 of the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例) stipulates that Taiwanese who obtain Chinese household registration or a Chinese passport would be deprived of their Taiwanese citizenship and lose their right to work in the military, public service or public schools, it said. To identify and prevent the illegal employment of holders of Chinese ID cards or
RSS