After several years' idle running due to technical and funding problems, the military is now better prepared for the deployment of a multi-layered missile defense system (MDS) to stand up to missile threats from China, defense sources said yesterday.
MDS is the domestic version of Bush administration-initiated theater missile defense (TMD). It will be comprised of land-based, sea-based and airborne parts and it is expected to start taking shape in the next few years.
The land-based part of the MDS is to be comprised of a long-range early warning radar and the Patriot PAC-3 air defense system, both of which have yet to be bought from the US. Despite the fact that Washington has agreed to sell both components, the military has wasted quite some time debating whether to buy them.
Air force leaders finally reached a consensus to buy the radar system and have begun construction on two sites, one in the north and one in the south.
Meanwhile, the army is still discussing the merits of the Patriot PAC-3 system because it is still an experimental system and has yet to be proven to be reliable through repeated tests.
The US is very likely to put the Patriot PAC-3 to use if it goes to war against Iraq, the Ministry of National Defense predicted in a recent briefing on the situation in the Middle East. If the PAC-3 proves to be as effective as its manufacturer has claimed, the army might have more confidence in the system.
The second part of the MDS is the sea-based long-range radar and missile interceptor. This will include the Kidd-class and AEGIS-equipped destroyers as well as Standard SM-2 Block 4A and SM-3 air-defense missiles.
The navy has ordered four Kidd-class destroyers from the US and is to put them into operation by 2005. These destroyers have the equipment to detect ballistic missiles and weapons capable of intercepting such missiles. The Kidds received such capabilities through a "new threat upgrade" program, which enables the Kidds to possess part of the functions of the AEGIS "class" destroyer.
The Kidds are a transitional option for the navy before the acquisition of the AEGIS-equipped destroyers, which can not only detect ballistic missiles but also fire missiles to shoot them down.
The navy does not expect to get an AEGIS-equipped vessel from the US until 2010 since Washington does not any extra ships of this class to sell.
The US will reportedly announce its agreement to sell the AEGIS-equipped destroyers to Taipei at the end of the year.
The airborne part of the MDS will be the most difficult section to construct since it requires technology that is beyond the nation's capabilities.
Chang Li-teh (
"But if China uses longer-range missiles against us, the ABL might become useless. The ABL would not have that long range," he said.
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