A proposed US arms package comprising infrared search and track systems (IRSTs) for the nation’s fleet of F-16V aircraft would vastly improve their long-range detection and target tracking, significantly boosting air-to-air combat capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The proposed package comes at an opportune time, as daily incursions and flybys by Chinese warplanes and drones have become the norm, the ministry said in a statement released a day after a Pentagon agency notified the US Congress of the prospective arms deal.
Military experts expressed similar views, with one saying that IRSTs would allow fighter jets to track the infrared energy from enemy aircraft, without activating radar.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
Not only do IRSTs improve flight safety, but when mounted on the 4.5-generation F-16Vs, they would boost the jets’ ability to detect Chinese J-20 fighter jets — a fifth-generation stealth aircraft — narrowing the performance gap between the two, said Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow at Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) think tank the National Policy Foundation.
Due to the J-20s specially designed fuselages that reduce radar reflections, when a radar system picks up the signal of a J-20 it is often closer than indicated, Chieh said.
With the help of the IRSTs, pilots would be able to determine earlier how close the enemy aircraft are, thereby gaining more response time, Chieh said.
The proposed sale of the IRSTs to Taiwan indicates that Washington has taken note of the challenges posed by China’s J-20s and wants to bolster Taiwan’s capabilities to respond to those challenges, he said.
IRSTs are pods mounted on aircraft that are capable of picking up the heat signatures of another aircraft, such as its engine exhaust, said Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), an academic at the government-funded Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
The US military in 2020 launched an IRST upgrade program called the IRST-21, and the resultant product has been used on F-15 and F-16 jets to target stealth jets and small drones that have small radar footprints, Su said.
When Taiwan takes delivery of the IRSTs, it would be able to more effectively counter Chinese stealth fighter jets such as the J-20, Su said.
The advanced sensor systems would allow F-16V jets to hit enemy aircraft with AIM-20 missiles beyond visual range, he said.
Coupled with the F-16V’s superior dogfighting capabilities, that would give it an edge over stealth aircraft in close proximity, as the latter often have less maneuverability due to their shape — a trade-off that gives the stealth planes a smaller footprint, Su said.
The US’ decision to sell Taiwan the IRSTs also signifies deepening mutual trust, he said, adding that to date, the US had sold those systems or their equivalent only to its treaty-bound allies such as South Korea and Finland.
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