The Ministry of National Defense urged the US to deliver MK-48 torpedoes next year after the US military authorities delayed the procurement until 2030.
Taiwan has purchased MK-48 Mod 6 Advanced Technology (AT) heavyweight torpedoes from the US to strengthen its defense against threats from China, but the delivery has been delayed repeatedly.
Part of the procurement budget for last year was returned to national coffers due to the US being unable to deliver the order on time.
Photo courtesy of Raytheon Co
According to the ministry’s budget statement for the next year, the torpedoes were initially planned to be delivered by 2028, but the US military said they would not be delivered until 2030.
A senior Taiwanese official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, yesterday said that the government has purchased two types of torpedoes — one for practice purposes — along with test equipment and installations, with different delivery timelines for each item.
The delivery deadline for the MK-48 torpedoes was next year, while the supplementary equipment and installations should be delivered by 2028, they said.
The ministry has in recent years been in close touch with US officials who had earlier promised delivery on schedule, the official said, adding that later the torpedoes’ delivery was delayed half a year.
Considering the completion of the whole procurement has now been delayed for two years, it is worrying that the torpedoes might not be delivered on time, they said.
The ministry has purchased only 28 MK-48 heavyweight torpedoes, including 24 warheads and four practice torpedoes, for NT$5.46 billion (US$171 million) with the procurement to be compleyed by 2028.
On May 20, 2020, the US announced the sale of another 18 MK-48 heavyweight torpedoes to Taiwan, making the torpedoes purchased add up to 46.
However, the second purchase has yet to be included in the ministry’s budget statements, which say that NT$5.46 billion would be spent on 28 torpedoes.
The US-made MK-48 Mod 6 AT heavyweight torpedoes outperform the German-made Surface and Underwater Target (SUT) heavyweight torpedoes — which are used by the navy — in range, speed and guidance system.
MK-48 torpedoes are also in service for the US Navy. The torpedo has been modified to be more quiet and thus harder to detect by the enemy.
With a maximum speed of 101kph and a maximum range of 50km, MK-48 moves 60 percent faster than SUT with an additional 25 percent range at top speed.
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
South Korea is planning to revise its controversial electronic arrival card, a step Taiwanese officials said prompted them to hold off on planned retaliatory measures, a South Korean media report said yesterday. A Yonhap News Agency report said that the South Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs is planning to remove the “previous departure place” and “next destination” fields from its e-arrival card system. The plan, reached after interagency consultations, is under review and aims to simplify entry procedures and align the electronic form with the paper version, a South Korean ministry official said. The fields — which appeared only on the electronic form
RSS