A domestically built anti-ship missile, which boasts higher specifications than those of a similar type of weapon China recently bought from Russia, is expected to enter production by the end of next year, defense sources told the Taipei Times yesterday.
The supersonic missile, designated as Hsiung Feng (brave wind) III (
Mass-production of the missile is expected to begin by the end of next year and is covered by the proposed defense budget for 2001, although the exact budget allocation for manufacturing the missiles has not been specified, the sources said.
No exact details have been revealed because the budget proposal has yet to be examined and approved by the legislature during the current session.
Hundreds of the missiles are slated to be produced for the navy -- the only branch of the military which has until now shown interest in purchasing the new weapons system.
Officials with the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), the developer of the missile, said the Hsiung Feng III has greater range and faster speed than the Sunburn system.
China has in recent months bought Sunburn missiles from Russia to deploy on its Sovremenny-class destroyers, which are also Russian built.
CSIST officials refused, however, to reveal the range and speed of the missile, which they said remains classified information.
According to independent sources, the Hsiung Feng III has a range of around 600km and a speed exceeding Mach 2. The Sunburn's range and speed are 240km and Mach 2, respectively.
The Hsiung Feng III is designed not just for attacks on warships on the open seas but also for longer-range strikes on ships docked at port.
Like the US military's Harpoon anti-ship missile, the Hsiung Feng III can be launched vertically, marking a breakthrough for CSIST in its missile launch technology development.
"Vertical launch is one of the key technologies CSIST has developed on its own. It can greatly widen the attack angle of the missile and at the same time reduce the radar cross section of the weapon," said a defense official, who declined to be identified.
"It is not known for the moment what type of fighting ships will be used as the platform for the new anti-ship missile. But whatever the the chosen platform -- Lafayette-class or Chengkung-class frigates -- the ships will need to undergo considerable conversions to accommodate the vertically launched weapon," he said.
The Hsiung Feng III is the latest variant of the Hsiung Feng series anti-ship missiles. The previous two versions -- the Hsiung Feng I and Hsiung Feng II -- are already operational in the three services.
Hundreds of the Hsiung Feng I and Hsiung Feng II missiles are now deployed on the navy's ships and at army missile bases and can be launched by the air force's Indigenous Defense Fighters (
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