The 400 land-launched Harpoon missiles purchased from the US are to be placed under the jurisdiction of the Littoral Combat Command, which would be officially established in 2026, to strengthen its anti-surface combat capabilities, a Ministry of National Defense source said yesterday.
The first base to be equipped with Harpoon missiles would be in Tainan, and is likely to complete construction by August 2027, the source said.
The military opted to purchase Harpoon missiles, as they were a tried-and-tested system, said the source, who commented on the condition of anonymity.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
The purchase was for the newest type, which has a slightly greater range than existing Harpoon missiles deployed by the US, they added.
Its range also exceeds the navy’s land-launched Hsiung Feng II’s range of 148km, they said.
The missile package comes with 25 radar trucks compatible with the navy’s surveillance and reconnaissance system, the source said, adding that the network formed by the vehicles would feature the capability of having one node immediately take up the workload of another in case it is attacked or put out of commission.
The source said the military plans to integrate the Harpoon systems with Taiwan-made Hsiung Feng missiles under the forthcoming Littoral Combat Command.
The navy has been building multiple anti-surface missile bases nationwide to increase anti-ship capabilities, the source said.
Bases are to be built in Tainan’s Sinjhong District (新中), the military port of Kaohsiung’s Zuoying District (左營), the eastern coast of Pingtung County, Pingtung’s Pucian Township (埔墘), Taitung County’s Taiping Township (太平) and Yunlin County’s Huwei Township (虎尾), the source said.
However, the bidding process for bases has seen setbacks due to various reasons, including public opposition, except for the Tainan base, which saw a successful bid of NT$1.61 billion (US$50.35 million) this week and is expected to be completed by August 2027, they said.
Parts of the Hai Feng Shore-Based Anti-ship Missile Group would be moved under the new command to form four different strike groups, armed separately with improved-range Hsiung Feng II and Hsiung Feng III missiles, as well as Harpoon missiles to effectively counter the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, they said.
Separately yesterday, the Coast Guard Administration’s Anping-class offshore patrol boat Bali (八里) won acclaim for hitting its intended target with a Hsiung Feng III missile during the military’s annual sea and air precision drill, which concluded yesterday.
The news came as a shock, as the ship was expected to be firing Hsiung Feng II missiles during the exercise, and had altered the height of its launcher to keep up with the facade.
The ability of the coast guard to keep quiet on such matters was encouraging, the Ocean Affairs Council said.
Additional reporting by Yu Tai-lang
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