The Ministry of National Defense’s Special Budget for Acquisitions under the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan is expected to significantly stimulate the domestic economy, with the ministry having allotted NT$176.27 billion (US$5.45 billion) to purchase various items from domestic suppliers, the ministry’s latest report to the Legislative Yuan showed.
The report said that missile acquisition and production comprise the majority of the budget set aside to purchase domestic supplies at NT$88.82 billion, while purchases of a variety of platforms stand at NT$31.8 billion, construction efforts are estimated at NT$38.09 billion and logistics-related acquisitions at NT$17.5 billion.
The improvement plan intends to establish coastal anti-surface batteries, which call for increased production of Hsiung Feng II (Brave Wind, 雄風) and III missiles, as well as Hsiung Sheng Missile Systems which use the Hsiung Feng IIE and extended-range Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missiles.
Photo: Ministry of National Defense via AP
The improvement plan also calls for the acquisition of highly efficient ships, the acquisition of Wan Chien (Thousand Sword, 萬劍) cluster-munition missiles, Chien Hsiang (劍翔) uncrewed aerial vehicles developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology, as well as ground-based surface-to-air missile (SAM) bases featuring Tien Kung III missiles (Sky Bow, 天弓) and their extended range variant, the report said.
It added that the project also aims to acquire more field-based SAMs and is looking into the possibility of arming the Coast Guard Administration during times of war.
Citing a previous report, the ministry said annual production rates for land-based and ship-based Tien Chien (Sky Sword, 天劍) missiles have risen from 40 to 150; the rate for Sky Bow missiles has doubled from 48 to 96. The rate for Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Sheng missiles, which share a production line, has risen from 81 to 131, while the rate for Hsiung Feng III supersonic anti-ship missiles has risen from 20 to 70.
In terms of counteroffensive weapons, Wan Chien missiles are expected to see an annual production rate of 50, up from 18 currently, while the rate of production of the Jian Hsiang drone, which does not yet have an annual production rate, is expected to reach 48 per year, the report said.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
A crowd of over 200 people gathered outside the Taipei District Court as two sisters indicted for abusing a 1-year-old boy to death attended a preliminary hearing in the case yesterday afternoon. The crowd held up signs and chanted slogans calling for aggravated penalties in child abuse cases and asking for no bail and “capital punishment.” They also held white flowers in memory of the boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), who was allegedly tortured to death by the sisters in December 2023. The boy died four months after being placed in full-time foster care with the
The Shanlan Express (山嵐號), or “Mountain Mist Express,” is scheduled to launch on April 19 as part of the centennial celebration of the inauguration of the Taitung Line. The tourism express train was renovated from the Taiwan Railway Corp’s EMU500 commuter trains. It has four carriages and a seating capacity of 60 passengers. Lion Travel is arranging railway tours for the express service. Several news outlets were invited to experience the pilot tour on the new express train service, which is to operate between Hualien Railway Station and Chihshang (池上) Railway Station in Taitung County. It would also be the first tourism service
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
RSS