The Ministry of National Defense urged the public to back the military’s plan to deploy mobile Harpoon missile platforms in central and southern Taiwan to deter a military invasion of Taiwan by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Local residents last week expressed concern over the plans.
A person in the know said the new deployment would be carried out on mobile platforms that would be moved to tactical positions, instead of being at a fixed base, adding, however, that there would be some form of fixed structures that would serve as a command center as well as a logistics and administrative base.
Photo: Ministry of Defense handout via EPA-EFE
The source, citing ministry statistics, said the military is expected to launch 52 construction projects across the nation for the deployment of the majority of its surface-to-air missiles, while planning to upgrade the launch systems for six fixed bases.
The Legislative Yuan has approved the funding for these projects, they added.
According to the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan Purchase Special Regulation (海空戰力提升計畫採購特別條例), deployment of the Hsiung Feng anti-surface missiles is divided into two stages, with the first stage, from 2017 to 2026, focusing on expanding missile production capability — particularly for Hsiung Feng II (Brave Wind II, 雄風) and Hsiung Feng III missiles — and establishing seven facilities.
The source said the first stage also included plans to upgrade the launch systems at the six fixed-location bases.
The second stage would focus on broadening the nation’s capabilities to produce HF-2, HF-3 and the HF-3 extended-range variant, as well as the construction of 12 other facilities, including garages, driver training grounds, component warehouses, maintenance centers and combat readiness control centers, the source said.
The military said it would construct three facilities, including vehicle garages, munitions depots and land-based anti-air capabilities, mainly comprised of land-based variants of the Sky Sword II (天劍).
The military is also constructing an additional 17 facilities — including manufacturing plants — to support land-based surface-to-air sites featuring the land-based variant of the upgraded Ting Kung II (Sky Bow, 天弓) and the Tien Kung III missiles.
The military also plans to build a hangar shed, warehouse and maintenance centers for the Chien Hsiang uncrewed aerial vehicles, the source said, adding that additional facilities are to be built to house the munitions for the Wan Chien (Thousand Swords, 萬劍) cluster munitions missile.
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