Taiwan has signed two procurement contracts with the US, purchasing two weapons systems to boost its defense capabilities, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.
The contracts were signed by Taiwan’s defense mission in the US and the American Institute in Taiwan, the ministry said on its Web site.
The ministry provided limited details of the systems, saying that one is “a long-range precision-fire system,” while the other is “a batch of missiles.”
A source close to the matter told the Central News Agency that the two packages are the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) and the Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems.
Local defense experts have said that the systems would significantly boost Taiwan’s asymmetrical warfare capabilities.
The long-range precision fire system, to be stationed in Taoyuan, cost NT$9.62 billion (US$346.48 million), the ministry said, adding that the deal took effect on June 1.
The Army Command Headquarters is tasked with the system’s deployment, which is scheduled to be completed in 2027, it added.
The missiles, to be stationed in Kaohsiung, cost NT$39 billion, the ministry said, adding that the deal took effect on May 19.
The Navy Command Headquarters is tasked with the deployment, scheduled to be completed in 2028, it added.
The two arms packages were first announced by the US in October last year.
Washington said that the systems would improve Taiwan’s long-range counterstrike capability in the event of being attacked.
The packages, at the time estimated to cost a combined US$436.1 million, were reported to include 11 HIMARS M142 launchers, 64 Army Tactical Missile System M57 Unitary Missiles, seven M1152Al High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles, 11 M240B machine guns and 17 International Field Artillery Tactical Data Systems.
In October last year, the US announced that it would sell Taiwan 100 Harpoon coastal defense systems and related equipment, including 400 Harpoon Block II missiles, 100 launcher transport units and 25 radar trucks, at an estimated cost of US$2.37 billion.
Hong Kong singer Andy Lau’s (劉德華) concert in Taipei tonight has been cancelled due to Typhoon Kong-rei and is to be held at noon on Saturday instead, the concert organizer SuperDome said in a statement this afternoon. Tonight’s concert at Taipei Arena was to be the first of four consecutive nightly performances by Lau in Taipei, but it was called off at the request of Taipei Metro, the operator of the venue, due to the weather, said the organizer. Taipei Metro said the concert was cancelled out of consideration for the audience’s safety. The decision disappointed a number of Lau’s fans who had
Commuters in Taipei picked their way through debris and navigated disrupted transit schedules this morning on their way to work and school, as the city was still working to clear the streets in the aftermath of Typhoon Kong-rey. By 11pm yesterday, there were estimated 2,000 trees down in the city, as well as 390 reports of infrastructure damage, 318 reports of building damage and 307 reports of fallen signs, the Taipei Public Works Department said. Workers were mobilized late last night to clear the debris as soon as possible, the department said. However, as of this morning, many people were leaving messages
A Canadian dental assistant was recently indicted by prosecutors after she was caught in August trying to smuggle 32kg of marijuana into Taiwan, the Aviation Police Bureau said on Wednesday. The 30-year-old was arrested on Aug. 4 after arriving on a flight to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Chang Tsung-lung (張驄瀧), a squad chief in the Aviation Police Bureau’s Criminal Investigation Division, told reporters. Customs officials noticed irregularities when the woman’s two suitcases passed through X-ray baggage scanners, Chang said. Upon searching them, officers discovered 32.61kg of marijuana, which local media outlets estimated to have a market value of more than NT$50 million (US$1.56
FATALITIES: The storm claimed at least two lives — a female passenger in a truck that was struck by a falling tree and a man who was hit by a utility pole Workers cleared fallen trees and shop owners swept up debris yesterday after one of the biggest typhoons to hit the nation in decades claimed at least two lives. Typhoon Kong-rey was packing winds of 184kph when it slammed into eastern Taiwan on Thursday, uprooting trees, triggering floods and landslides, and knocking out power as it swept across the nation. A 56-year-old female foreign national died from her injuries after the small truck she was in was struck by a falling tree on Provincial Highway 14A early on Thursday. The second death was reported at 8pm in Taipei on Thursday after a 48-year-old man
RSS