The Ministry of National Defense has awarded a NT$2.49 billion (US$79.4 million) contract to DCI Group of France for ship combat system platform components, a government procurement notice dated yesterday showed.
The limited tender is being implemented in Kaohsiung from Jan. 18 to the same day next year, the notice said.
The contract would likely supply components to one of Taiwan’s six Kang Ding-class guided missile frigates, as DCI Group is the supplier of original equipment manufacturer parts for Laffeyette-class warships, on which they are based.
Photo: Liao Yao-tung, Taipei Times
The Kang Ding-class frigates — which comprise the navy’s 124th Fleet headquartered in Kaohsiung’s Zuoying Naval Base — are mainly employed in air defense, anti-submarine warfare, escort, anti-blockade and joint surface interception roles.
The navy has allocated a total of NT$43.2 billion to modernize the Kang Ding-class ships by 2030 with battle management system upgrades, new radars and vertical launch systems developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology’s Huayang Project.
The launch system would enable the frigates to fire indigenous Hai Chien II (“Sea Sword”) and Hai Kung III (“Sea Bow”) missiles instead of the aging Chaparral missile systems that originally equipped the class.
Taiwanese navy frigate the Chen De (承德), which was last seen being refitted at a dock in Kaohsiung last year, was the first Kang Ding-class warship to receive the upgrades. The listed completion time for the refitting is between next year and 2026.
The modernization program, with a budget of NT$5.76 billion for this year, is probably the source of funding for the latest contract with DCI Group, although the ministry did not specify whether the parts would be used for the Chen De or another ship.
The remainder of this year’s Kang Ding-class modernization budget is likely to be utilized for domestically developed systems and weapons.
Taiwan aims to open 18 representative offices and seven Taiwan Tourism Information Centers worldwide by next year to attract international visitors, the Tourism Administration said on Saturday. The agency has so far opened three representative offices abroad this year and would open two more before the end of the year, it said. It has also already opened information centers in Jakarta, Mumbai and Paris, and is to open one in Vancouver next month and in Manila in December, it said. Next year, it would also open offices in Amsterdam, Dubai and Sydney, it added. While the Cabinet did not mention international tourists in its
EYES AT SEA: Many marine enthusiasts have expressed interest in volunteering for coastal patrols, which would help identify stowaways and illegal fishing, the CGA said Six thousand coastal patrol volunteers are to be recruited for 159 inspection offices to enhance the nation’s response to “gray zone” conflicts, Coast Guard Administration (CGA) sources said yesterday. Volunteer teams would be established to increase the resilience of coastal defense systems in the wake of two unlawful entries attempted by Chinese over the past three months, Ocean Affairs Council Minister Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said. A former Chinese navy captain drove a motorboat into the Tamsui River (淡水河) in Taipei on the eve of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, while another Chinese man sailed in a rubber boat into the Houkeng
NEXT LEVEL: The defense ministry confirmed that a video released last month featured personnel piloting new FPV drone systems being developed by the Armaments Bureau Taipei and Washington are pushing for their drone companies to work together to establish a China-free supply chain, the Financial Times reported on Friday. A delegation of high-level executives and US government officials were yesterday to arrive in Taipei to discuss with their Taiwanese counterparts collaboration on drone technology procurement and development, the report said. The executives represent 26 US manufacturers of drone and counter-drone systems, while the officials are from the US Department of Commerce and the US Department of Defense’s Defense Innovation Unit, along with Dev Shenoy, principal director for microelectronics in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
‘ANONYMOUS 64’: A national security official said that it is an attempt by China to increase domestic anti-Taiwanese sentiment and inflame cross-strait tensions The Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM) yesterday denied accusations by China that it had undermined regional security by carrying out cyberattacks against targets in China, adding instead that Beijing was responsible for raising tensions and undermining regional peace. The Chinese Ministry of State Security on WeChat accused a hacker group called “Anonymous 64” of targeting China, Hong Kong and Macau starting earlier this year through frequent cyberattacks. The group carried out cyberattacks to seize control of Web sites, outdoor electronic billboards and video-on-demand platforms in China, Hong Kong and Macau, it said, adding the hackers’