A defense contractor has urged the military to streamline its sourcing of motor vehicle parts, as a lack of standardization has strained combat units and the contractors charged to supply their logistics.
Taiwan’s armed forces operate too many vehicle types that were produced at a low volume by a diverse group of manufacturers based in different countries, Champion Auto chairman Lee Ta-wei (李大偉) said last week.
An air defense unit with Tien Kung III air defense missile systems uses combat vehicles made in four countries, while the power plants of the vehicles were produced by seven distinct domestic manufacturers and supplied from seven licensed sources of parts, Lee said.
Photo courtesy of Champion Auto
The situation is trying for frontline military units and the contractors they rely on to sustain their equipment, he said, adding that Champion Auto — a company with about 240 employees — is not alone in having to service thousands of military vehicles with a small pool of resources.
Moreover, vendors are afraid to build up a large stockpile of parts because of the risks associated with vying for limited two-year military logistics contracts, he said.
Military service members often buy equipment parts out of pocket, while contractors have been forced to buy components from dubious sources, he said, adding that sometimes the contractors do not know where the parts they obtained originated.
Dealing with a great variety of equipment and components has overwhelmed many company commanders who cannot memorize the methods of operation or first-line maintenance procedures for the vehicles in their command, he said.
Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Shen Ming-shih (沈明室) said that complicated sourcing arrangements and the prominence of high-variety, low-volume production of military systems have led to logistical and sustainment difficulties.
A redesign of regulations governing defense contracts might be needed to improve the situation, he said.
The bureaucratic administrators of the military tend to cut logistics budgets before taking measures that would reduce the number of systems being fielded, he said.
Although the Ministry of National Defense tries to mitigate risks by using a centralized strategic reserve of parts and placing a greater reliance on the civilian sector, insufficient funding for military logistics is exerting a hidden toll on capabilities, he said.
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