The nation’s defense capabilities should be greatly reinforced by the M142 High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and several other arms packages due for delivery this year, according to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget plan.
The second group of 18 HIMARS launchers should be delivered to Taiwan before the fourth quarter, according to the defense budget plan. The same package includes 20 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) missiles with a range of up to 300km, as well as 864 precision-guided artillery rockets with a range of 70km.
The package would deepen the military’s long-range strike capability and cross-theater fire support, the ministry said in the budget plan.
Photo: Screen grab from the US Army Reserve Web site
Another arms package containing 14 M136 Volcano minelaying systems is scheduled to arrive soon.
The ground-based mobile minelaying system purchased by Taiwan is equipped with antitank mines, rather than antipersonnel mines, the ministry said in the budget plan.
It consists of a vehicle, launchers and mine canisters and is capable of deploying 960 mines in under 12 minutes over an area measuring 1.1km in length and 120m in width.
The system is highly automated and allows operators to set self-destruct timers for the mines at four hours, 48 hours or 15 days, ensuring operational effectiveness while minimizing the risk of harm to civilians, the ministry said.
The army’s last shipment of 28 M1A2T tanks should arrive during the first quarter this year.
A hundred sets of Harpoon missiles and launchers and two of the four MQ-9B “Reaper” drones would arrive this year, the ministry said, adding that they would be used by the navy and the air force, respectively.
Though the air force experienced slight delays for delivery of 66 F-16V block 70 jets, they are expected to arrive at different times this year, along with three sets of MS-110 Imaging Reconnaissance Pod, the ministry said.
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Taiwan Travelogue (臺灣漫遊錄), which earlier this week became the first Taiwanese novel to win the International Booker Prize, is to be adapted into a television series through a Taiwan-Japan coproduction, producer Chang Chen-yu (張辰漁) said yesterday. Chang, a producer at World Softest Production Film Co, wrote on Facebook that the company had been searching for projects with international appeal that retain a strong Taiwanese identity after colleagues and Japanese partners strongly recommended the novel. After reading the book, Chang said he immediately decided to pursue the screen rights. “A great story has the power to transcend time and borders, and connect countless people,”
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