The nation’s domestically developed subsonic anti-ship cruise missile system is expected to enter initial capability assessment later this year, a source said yesterday.
The prototype missile system is designed primarily to be launched by vehicles to attack ships at a range of 900km to 1,000km, a source familiar with the work of the Chunghsan Institute of Science and Technology said on condition of anonymity.
The Kratos Defense Mighty Hornet IV uncrewed aerial vehicle could potentially carry this heavy missile if the drone sacrifices some of its aviation fuel storage in favor of weapon payload, they said.
Photo: AFP
The as-yet unnamed long-range subsonic cruise missile was developed by leveraging technologies utilized in existing long-range strike weapons and was documented for the first time by the Ministry of National Defense in a list of funded programs last year, the source said.
That the system is ready for testing is credit to the institute’s ability to conduct research and development at speed, they said.
The Yun Feng hypersonic land-attack cruise missile and the extended range variant of the Hsiung Feng IIE missile, which respectively have an effective range of 2,000km and 1,000km, are the only systems with superior range than the prototype in the military’s arsenal, they added.
The successful development of an indigenous alternative could spur Washington to approve the export authorization of the AGM-158C Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which Taiwan has sought without success, the source said.
The armed forces have long expressed an interest in obtaining the AGM-158C anti-ship missile, as the weapon possesses stealth capabilities, carries a 1 tonne warhead and is based on a battle-proven family of systems in service since 2004, they said.
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China has reserved offshore airspace over the Yellow Sea and East China Sea from March 27 to May 6, issuing alerts that are usually used to warn of military exercises, although no such exercises have been announced, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Sunday. Reserving such a large area for 40 days without explanation is an “unusual step,” as military exercises normally only last a few days, the paper said. The alerts, known as notice to air missions (NOTAMs), “are intended to inform pilots and aviation authorities of temporary airspace hazards or restrictions,” the article said. The airspace reserved in the alert
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