The army has placed an order with the US for thousands of FIM-92 Stinger missiles worth NT$11.02 billion (US$358.91 million) on top of a previous order by the Ministry of National Defense for 2,621 Stinger systems for NT$69 billion, a military source said yesterday.
The army ordered the missiles to increase its stores, while the ministry purchase was to procure arms and support equipment, the source said.
Taiwan is one of the few countries that deploy the entire Stinger family of products, including Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS), the Dual-mount Stinger system, the AN/TWQ-1 Avenger Air Defense System and helicopter-launched Stinger missiles, the source said.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
The army’s purchase was likely to top up its stores for the Dual-mount, the Avenger and the helicopter-launched systems, they said.
The MANPADS, which were used in the Han Kuang exercises, were provided by the US as part of its military aid package and were not part of foreign arms procurement deals, the ministry said.
The first batch of 500 missiles in the ministry purchase is expected to arrive by the end of the year, with the shipment to be divided between the navy and the army, the source said.
The remaining systems would be delivered in installments, with the army expected to receive 1,985 missiles, 549 launchers and 549 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems by 2031, they said.
The navy is expected to receive 45 missiles, 15 launchers and 15 IFF systems in the same year, they added.
Meanwhile, the ministry’s budget for this year shows that the air force has NT$4.9 billion to purchase Hsiung Sheng (雄昇) missile launcher trucks and 11 other items across six years.
The Hsiung Sheng missiles, approved for small-scale production with a budget of NT$17 billion, has a range of 1,000km and would bolster the military’s countermeasure capacity against China.
Separately, the ministry is also bolstering its logistics capabilities.
An announcement on the E-Procurement Web site said that it has inked a deal with the American Institute in Taiwan to purchase the M232A2 Modular Artillery Charge System (MACS).
The MACS uses an incremental “build a charge” system in which components are combined in specific numbers for different firing zones, providing the propellant for weapons such as M109A2 self-propelled howitzers.
Additional reporting by Aaron Tu
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
Taiwan has signed six arms procurement offers from the US totaling more than NT$208 billion (US$6.59 billion) covering long-range precision strike systems, missile stockpile replenishment and joint production of large-caliber ammunition, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The government’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion special defense budget has been stalled in the Legislative Yuan as opposition lawmakers question the amount and procurement items, while the Presidential Office and defense ministry say that the full amount is necessary to safeguard Taiwan. Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) on Monday briefed the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on the defense budget for
RSS