One of the three new weapon procurement contracts signed with the US last year is to be delivered by the end of this year, the Ministry of National Defense announced today.
The three contracts are for Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS), an L-band electronic array radar and a non-L-band electronic array radar, the ministry said.
Given the frequent military activities in the Taiwan Strait by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), the NASAMS and new radar systems will deepen Taiwan’s air defense capabilities, the ministry said.
Photo courtesy of the Norwegian Ministry of Defense
NASAMS have been used effectively in Ukraine, offering up automated detection capability, distributed firepower capabilities, a supporting command and control component, the ministry added.
The two new radar systems will improve detection rates and be resistant to jamming or interference, the ministry said.
NASAMS integrates the MPQ-64 “Sentinel,” multiple types of short and medium-range air defense missiles, and the Link 16 military tactical data link, allowing it to defend against aircraft within a range of 40 to 50 kilometers.
NASAMS will be deployed in Greater Taipei, with one located in Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and the other in New Taipei’s Tamsui District (淡水), as both locations would be crucial in defending the capital, the ministry said.
The electronic array systems will be spread across the country, the ministry added.
NASAMS has performed well in Ukraine, making it a priority item for the US to recommend to Taiwan as part of the country’s push to increase its asymmetric warfare capabilities, defense expert Mei Fu-hsing (梅復興) said.
Unlike several other arms sales, Mei said, this system aligns well with that goal.
The US government announced on Oct. 26 last year that it would notify the US Congress of the agreements, totaling US$1.988 billion.
This is the 17th arm sale to Taiwan under outgoing US President Joe Biden.
The contract for NASAMS amounts to NT$10.31 billion (US$312.7 million), has a fulfillment date of Dec. 27 of last year, and will run until Feb. 25, 2034.
The L-band electronic array radar will cost NT$6.42 billion and run until 2030, while the non-L model will cost NT$7.61 billion and expire at the same time.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Another wave of cold air would affect Taiwan starting from Friday and could evolve into a continental cold mass, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Temperatures could drop below 10°C across Taiwan on Monday and Tuesday next week, CWA forecaster Chang Chun-yao (張竣堯) said. Seasonal northeasterly winds could bring rain, he said. Meanwhile, due to the continental cold mass and radiative cooling, it would be cold in northern and northeastern Taiwan today and tomorrow, according to the CWA. From last night to this morning, temperatures could drop below 10°C in northern Taiwan, it said. A thin coat of snow
RSS