Taiwan has produced 2,577 missiles over the past five years, passing a key test of the nation’s capability to surge military production, a high-ranking defense official said yesterday.
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) achieved the figure by manufacturing missiles at capacity in the race to fill the orders authorized under the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, the official said on condition of anonymity.
The orders included the land-and ship-based versions of the Hsiung Feng (雄風, “Brave Wind”) II and III anti-ship cruise missiles, Wan Chien (萬劍, “Ten Thousand Swords”) air-to-ground cruise missiles, Tien Kung (天劍, “Sky Sword”) II and III air defense missiles and Chien Hsiang (劍翔, “Rising Sword”) loitering munitions, the official said.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
The Wan Chien missiles had a three-year production run, while Hsiung Feng IIE extended-range missiles and the Chien Hsiang attack drones had four-year production runs, they said.
The NCSIST overcame three critical production bottlenecks to pass the stress tests the orders posed, the official said.
The institute optimized assembly lines in anticipation of the high volume of orders, and obtained a domestically sourced 300-gallon (1,136 liter) industrial mixer at its missile propellant factory and high-powered X-ray equipment, they said.
The NCSIST’s acquisition of a mixer manufactured entirely in Taiwan was significant, as stringent foreign export controls prevent Taiwan from procuring the equipment overseas, the official said.
The mixer, capable of more than 80 production cycles a year, has boosted production capacity since going online in July last year, they said.
The upgraded X-ray equipment, which is capable of penetrating heavy-displacement rocket motors, accelerated the quality control process by 36 percent, the official said.
The Ministry of National Defense said in a report to the legislature that the NCSIST could produce up to 150 Wan Chien missiles, 96 Tien Kung III missiles, 70 Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missiles and 131 Hsiung Feng II missiles per year, with no delay if upgraded variants are produced instead.
The institute can produce up to 50 Wan Chien missiles and 48 Chien Hsiang drones a year, the report said.
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