Raytheon was awarded a nearly US$700 million contract to produce National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) fire units destined for Taiwan, expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2031, the US Department of Defense announced on Monday.
The award was placed by the US Army Contracting Command and is part of a broader Foreign Military Sales package intended to strengthen Taiwan’s ground-based air defense.
The US Department of State on Thursday last week announced a US$330 million sale of fighter jet parts to Taiwan, the first announcement of an arms sale to Taiwan since US President Donald Trump began his second term.
Photo: Screen grab from Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Web site
The Ministry of National Defense last year said that US-supplied NASAMS units, proven effective in the Russia-Ukraine war, would strengthen Taiwan’s air defenses, especially amid frequent Chinese military activity around the Taiwan Strait.
The NASAMS units would be paired with two new radar systems, effectively boosting target detection and anti-interference capabilities, and could be deployed with existing air-defense units to form a stronger multilayered defense, the ministry said.
Next year’s national defense budget included about NT$35.7 billion (US$1.15 billion) for the NASAMS program running from last year to 2030, with the purchasing scope including radar, launch systems, training and pre-delivery preparations.
The air force said that growing airborne threats to key bases and radar sites require a mobile, integrated air-defense system that can distribute firepower and build a multilayered interception network to protect critical infrastructure.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
More than half of the bamboo vipers captured in Tainan in the past few years were found in the city’s Sinhua District (新化), while other districts had smaller catches or none at all. Every year, Tainan captures about 6,000 snakes which have made their way into people’s homes. Of the six major venomous snakes in Taiwan, the cobra, the many-banded krait, the brown-spotted pit viper and the bamboo viper are the most frequently captured. The high concentration of bamboo vipers captured in Sinhua District is puzzling. Tainan Agriculture Bureau Forestry and Nature Conservation Division head Chu Chien-ming (朱健明) earlier this week said that the
The first bluefin tuna of the season, brought to shore in Pingtung County and weighing 190kg, was yesterday auctioned for NT$10,600 (US$333.5) per kilogram, setting a record high for the local market. The auction was held at the fish market in Donggang Fishing Harbor, where the Siaoliouciou Island-registered fishing vessel Fu Yu Ching No. 2 delivered the “Pingtung First Tuna” it had caught for bidding. Bidding was intense, and the tuna was ultimately jointly purchased by a local restaurant and a local company for NT$10,600 per kilogram — NT$300 ,more than last year — for a total of NT$2.014 million. The 67-year-old skipper
BREACH OF CONTRACT: The bus operators would seek compensation and have demanded that the manufacturer replace the chips with ones that meet regulations Two bus operators found to be using buses with China-made chips are to demand that the original manufacturers replace the systems and provide compensation for breach of contract, the Veterans Affairs Council said yesterday. Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) yesterday said that Da Nan Bus Co and Shin-Shin Bus Co Ltd have fielded a total of 82 buses that are using Chinese chips. The bus models were made by Tron-E, while the systems provider was CYE Electronics, Lin said. Lin alleged that the buses were using chips manufactured by Huawei subsidiary HiSilicon Co, which presents a national security risk if the
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