The Ministry of National Defense is ready to move forward with mass production of Tien Kung IV (天弓, Sky Bow) missiles, if lawmakers authorize the funds, a defense official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
The ministry has secured suppliers and manufacturers to source at least two air defense systems and 128 missiles for an estimated NT$36.6 billion (US$1.16 billion) from the stalled special defense budget, the official said.
The ministry’s wish list — published on Saturday — for items to be procured under the Defense Industry Development Act (國防產業發展條例) showed that the government is poised to order a plethora of equipment related to a “mesopheric anti-tactical ballistic missile system.”
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
The term, referring to a layer of the atmosphere at altitudes from 50km to 85km, indicates interest in the domestically developed Tien Kung IV missiles, which have an interception altitude of 70km, the official said.
The weapon — expected to be part of the proposed T-Dome multi-layered air defense network — is one of the systems developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Chiang Kung (強弓, Strong Bow) project, they said.
The project is developing the Tien Kung V, an air defense system with a hoped-for interception altitude of 100km, they said.
The ministry anticipates the advanced system to be ready for the initial operational capability assessment phase sometime this year, with enough time to spare for small-batch production before December, they said.
Transcom Inc, a major player in the Chiang Kung project, told investors late last year that the company expects the government to place orders next month for Tieng Kung III and IV missiles.
Military demand for the systems would surge next year, the company said, citing projections of the time.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS