Taiwan yesterday said it has signed a NT$4.5 billion (US$144.8 million) deal to purchase 14 anti-tank munition-laying systems from the US.
Under the deal, which was signed recently and became effective on Wednesday last week, the US-made arms are scheduled to be delivered before the end of 2029, the Ministry of National Defense said in a public notice yesterday.
The purchase deal followed the US Department of State’s approval in December last year of a proposed US$180 million arms package for Taiwan, including vehicle-launched Volcano anti-tank munition-laying systems and M977A4 HEMTT 10-tonne cargo trucks on which those systems would be mounted.
Photo: screen grab from the US Army Reserve Web site
In the public notice, the ministry did not explain the discrepancy between the US$180 million proposal and the completed deal of NT$4.5 billion.
Army Command Headquarters said that the military’s proposal for the purchase of the US-made vehicle-launched Volcano anti-tank munition-laying systems was first put forth in 2018.
The main advantage of this type of system is its ability to rapidly deploy anti-tank mines over a large area to repel an amphibious landing, the command headquarters said.
The Federation of American Scientists Military Analysis Network said the M136 mine dispenser provides soldiers with a scatterable mine capability delivered by helicopter or ground vehicles.
Each Volcano dispenser contains 960 anti-tank/anti-personnel mines, and is capable of laying a minefield 1,100m long by 120m wide within four to 12 minutes, the network said. In addition, the mines have a timed self-destruct capability, it said.
At a ministry news conference in January, army Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Chang Yuan-hsun (章元勳) tried to quell concerns that the mine dispersing system would turn Taiwan into an island of mines.
If the military knows where hostiles will be landing, it can use the system to lay landmines swiftly on certain parts of a beach rather than on the entire beach, he said.
“If an enemy chooses to land, it will have to pay the price,” he said, touting the mine-dispensing system as capable of slowing the advance of enemy troops.
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