Taiwan has test-fired for the first time a locally developed submarine-launched missile designed to counter the threat of China’s fast-expanding navy, a report said yesterday.
An unknown number of Hsiung Feng II (HF-2, “Brave Wind”) ship-to-ship missiles developed by the military-run Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology were launched during a night drill late last month, the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) reported.
The drill was part of the navy’s five-year project to enhance the capabilities of two Dutch-built Chienlung (劍龍, “Sword Dragon”)-class submarines acquired in the late 1980s, it said, citing an unnamed military source.
“Although Taiwan has only two combat-ready submarines, once they are armed with such missiles, they will be able to serve as a deterrent to the Chinese naval fleets,” the source said.
The Liberty Times said the program to upgrade the submarines with the HF-2 missile was known as the “Juilung” (瑞龍, “auspicious dragon”) project.
The navy operates a fleet of four submarines, but only the two Dutch-built boats could be deployed in the event of war. The other two were built by the US in the 1940s and are used mainly for training.
The Ministry of Defense declined to comment on the report.
The military has also put into service land-based and air-launched HF-2s, which have a range of 150km.
Analysts say the missile will give the two subs beyond-vision striking capability that could be used to offset the threat of China’s naval fleet, which has undergone rapid modernization.
Additional reporting by Staff Writer
NO WORK, CLASS: President William Lai urged people in the eastern, southern and northern parts of the country to be on alert, with Typhoon Kong-rey approaching Typhoon Kong-rey is expected to make landfall on Taiwan’s east coast today, with work and classes canceled nationwide. Packing gusts of nearly 300kph, the storm yesterday intensified into a typhoon and was expected to gain even more strength before hitting Taitung County, the US Navy’s Joint Typhoon Warning Center said. The storm is forecast to cross Taiwan’s south, enter the Taiwan Strait and head toward China, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The CWA labeled the storm a “strong typhoon,” the most powerful on its scale. Up to 1.2m of rainfall was expected in mountainous areas of eastern Taiwan and destructive winds are likely
KONG-REY: A woman was killed in a vehicle hit by a tree, while 205 people were injured as the storm moved across the nation and entered the Taiwan Strait Typhoon Kong-rey slammed into Taiwan yesterday as one of the biggest storms to hit the nation in decades, whipping up 10m waves, triggering floods and claiming at least one life. Kong-rey made landfall in Taitung County’s Chenggong Township (成功) at 1:40pm, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The typhoon — the first in Taiwan’s history to make landfall after mid-October — was moving north-northwest at 21kph when it hit land, CWA data showed. The fast-moving storm was packing maximum sustained winds of 184kph, with gusts of up to 227kph, CWA data showed. It was the same strength as Typhoon Gaemi, which was the most
Air and rail traffic around Taiwan were disrupted today while power cuts occurred across the country as Typhoon Kong-rey, predicted to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon, continued edging closer to the country. A total of 241 passenger and cargo flights departing from or arriving at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport were canceled today due to the typhoon, Taoyuan International Airport Corp said. As of 9:30am, 109 inbound flights, 103 outbound flights and 29 cargo flights had been canceled, the company said. Taiwan Railway Corp also canceled all express trains on its Western Trunk Line, Eastern Trunk Line, South-Link Line and attached branches
Typhoon Kong-rey is forecast to make landfall in eastern Taiwan this afternoon and would move out to sea sometime overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 9am today, Kong-rey's outer rim was covering most of Taiwan except for the north. The storm's center was 110km east of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost tip, and moving northwest at 28kph. It was carrying maximum sustained winds near its center of 184kph, and gusts of up to 227kph, the CWA said. At a news conference this morning, CWA forecaster Chu Mei-lin (朱美霖) said Kong-rey is moving "extremely fast," and is expected to make landfall between
RSS