In addition to MK-28 torpedoes, Taiwan plans to procure anti-ship missiles for its indigenous submarine program to bolster its overall capabilities, Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) told the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) in an interview published yesterday.
The Ministry of National Defense (MND) would prioritize buying more advanced submarine-launched Harpoon missiles, but would not rule out procuring the missiles from other arms manufacturers, a source from the ministry said on condition of anonymity.
The ministry estimates that it would need at least 100 missiles for the eight Narwhal-class, or Haikun (海鯤), submarines it is planning to build under its indigenous submarine program, the source said.
Photo: Chen Yi-kuan, Taipei Times
The eight vessels, plus two existing Chienlung-class submarines, would give Taiwan a submarine force of 10, the source added.
The source declined to comment on whether the money would come from the NT$284 billion (US$9.5 billion) budget for the third-phase fund of the submarine program, or whether it would receive a separate budget like the long-range heavy torpedo procurement program.
The Chien Lung-class submarine is capable of carrying a combined 28 torpedoes and missiles, while the Haikun has an even larger missile capacity.
Once Taiwan receives the eight new vessels, its submarine force of 10 would be able to carry a total of 224 missiles and torpedoes, the source said.
Koo also talked about this year’s Han Kuang exercises, saying that the ministry would adopt a pragmatic approach, with various types of drones, the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), M1A2T tanks and other equipment taking part in the drills.
For the live-fire portion of this year’s exercises, there would be no script, no revelation of secrets or imagined enemy actions, Koo said.
The drills would be conducted in situ, with soldiers and equipment being deployed directly from their bases, unlike past practices of moving troops from their bases to perform the drills, he said.
The emphasis would be on continuity and to gauge the time it would take for units to be combat-ready, that is, the time needed to gather and deploy troops to their assigned positions, he said.
The live-fire drills are to take place in July and last for 10 days, longer than similar drills in the past, the ministry said.
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