The nation is on track to achieve a three-year plan to make 150 Wan Chien air-to-ground cruise missiles by the end of this year, a source familiar with the matter said yesterday.
The Wan Chien, a long-range precision-guided weapon utilized by the AIDC F-CK-1 Indigenous Defense Fighters, carries a payload of cluster munition for attacking troop concentrations and air bases, and has a claimed range of 200km, the source said on condition of anonymity.
According to the publicly listed portion of the Sea-Air Combat Power Improvement Plan, the Wan Chien missile production plan is budgeted at NT$370 million (US$11.82 million) to be implemented from 2022 to this year.
Photo: Taipei Times
That means total production would likely reach 150 missiles as the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology has reported being able to make 50 missiles a year.
The nation would then have as many as 200 Wan Chien missiles since the Changshan Institute has previously been making the missiles under a general budget.
Additionally, the Ministry of National Defense has listed a NT$501.745 million budget for manufacturing Wan Chien missiles via a contractor, the source said.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
This budget item most likely referred to an improved version of the Wan Chien that has a range of 400km, they said, adding that air force capabilities would get a significant boost if jets were to receive the extended-range missiles.
The 3rd Tactical Fighter Wing in Taichung and the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing in Tainan — the indigenous defense fighter air wings — have tested the missiles in live-fire drills and expressed satisfaction with the system, the source said.
Separately, the army’s Inspector of Armor has certified a locally produced 105mm rifled gun turret for a planned armored fighting vehicle to be based on the CM32, a defense official said on condition of anonymity.
The turret and its mounted gun demonstrated stability, precision and a hit probability superior to all active service armored fighting vehicles, including tanks, during live-fire trials conducted at the Armor Training Command, the official said.
A non-commissioned female officer — the best gunner to take part in the live-fire trials — had fired multiple shells through the same perforation on a target, the official said.
The Inspector of Armor has also given a score indicating satisfactory performance to the D1 and D2 prototypes for the vehicle that would receive the turret, with the exception that the hulls were 30cm taller than requested.
Meanwhile, a program to develop a 105mm-gun-armed wheeled armored fighting vehicle faces an uncertain future, as the army expects to receive M60A3 Patton and M1A2T Abrams battle tanks next year, they said.
The M60A3, though armed with the same gun, is better protected than the proposed wheeled vehicle, while the M1A2T, which sports a 120mm smooth bore gun and heavy composite armor, is markedly superior in both firepower and protection.
The Armaments Bureau and the 202 Arsenal are nevertheless working hard to roll out a complete 105mm-gun-armed vehicle as they believe the nation needs to have an indigenous ground warfare capability, the official said.
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