Taiwan has signed a NT$24.99 billion (US$761 million) procurement contract with the US for three Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to aid air defense capabilities in northern Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The contract was signed by the Defense Mission to the US and the American Institute in Taiwan, amounting to nearly NT$24.99 billion with a six-year time limit for contract performance that runs from Jan. 14 through Dec. 31, 2030, the ministry said in a statement published on the Government e-Procurement System yesterday.
The NASAMS would be delivered to Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), where they are expected to be deployed, it said.
Photo: screen grab from the Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Web site
A source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that there is a chance of the first NASAMS being delivered by the end of this year.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on Oct. 25 last year said that the US Department of State had approved three arms sales to Taiwan, including the NASAMS, an L-band AN/TPS-77 long-range radar system and an S-band AN/TPS-78 long-range radar system, which were initially projected to cost about NT$65.2 billion.
The ministry last month said that contracts for the three arms procurements would be signed and delivered by 2034.
The ministry signed four procurement contracts for NASAMS with the US which cost NT$49.3 billion, much less than the NT$65.2 billion estimated and announced by the US government, the source said.
The actual expenditure could be lower because it depends on raw material prices, production costs, order quantities and competing buyers, the source said.
As the ministry’s budget for NASAMS procurement remains classified for this fiscal year, the actual amount of the procurement would not be unveiled until the classified budget is disclosed next year, they said.
According to the DSCA, the new procurement of three NASAMS also included 123 AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, which have a range of up to 50km.
The missiles would be deployed in Taipei and New Taipei City to complete the air defense capabilities in that area in addition to the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Tien Kung (Sky Bow), Lu Chien II (Land Sword II) and AN/TWQ-1 Avenger missile systems.
The use of NASAMS would boost operational flexibility, as they are compatible with the ammunition employed by F-16 aircraft, including AIM-120 missiles and AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missiles.
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
A bipartisan group of US representatives have introduced a draft US-Taiwan Defense Innovation Partnership bill, aimed at accelerating defense technology collaboration between Taiwan and the US in response to ongoing aggression by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The bill was introduced by US representatives Zach Nunn and Jill Tokuda, with US House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Chairman John Moolenaar and US Representative Ashley Hinson joining as original cosponsors, a news release issued by Tokuda’s office on Thursday said. The draft bill “directs the US Department of Defense to work directly with Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense through their respective
Tsunami waves were possible in three areas of Kamchatka in Russia’s Far East, the Russian Ministry for Emergency Services said yesterday after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit the nearby Kuril Islands. “The expected wave heights are low, but you must still move away from the shore,” the ministry said on the Telegram messaging app, after the latest seismic activity in the area. However, the Pacific Tsunami Warning System in Hawaii said there was no tsunami warning after the quake. The Russian tsunami alert was later canceled. Overnight, the Krasheninnikov volcano in Kamchatka erupted for the first time in 600 years, Russia’s RIA
RSS