Taiwan is to buy 400 Harpoon Block II missiles and 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense Systems in one batch by 2028, not separately as originally intended, Minister of National Defense Chiu Kuo-cheng (邱國正) said yesterday.
Chiu made the statement in response to media queries before attending a session at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, adding that the decision was made in light of the rising threat from China, along with other considerations.
The Block II anti-ship missiles would supplement the capabilities of other missiles in service, he said.
Washington in October last year approved a possible sale to Taiwan of up to 100 Harpoon coastal defense systems and related equipment for about US$2.37 billion.
The package is to include 400 RGM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II surface-launched missiles, four RTM-84L-4 Harpoon Block II exercise missiles, 411 containers, 100 Harpoon Coastal Defense System launcher transporter units, 25 radar trucks and related logistics services and support, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said last year.
Meanwhile, the first indigenous Advanced Jet Trainer (AJT) to emerge from production took to the skies at Ching Chuan Kang Air Base in Taichung on Thursday.
Manufactured by the partially government owned Aerospace Industrial Development Corp (AIDC), the trainer with serial number 11003 made its debut test flight accompanied by one of the company’s two AJT prototypes.
A Ministry of National Defense report delivered to the Legislature in September said that the AIDC plans to complete the production of two AJTs by the end of this year.
Sixty-six AJTs are expected to be delivered to the military by 2026, the report said.
The AJT project was initiated in 2017 to replace the military’s decades-old AT-3 trainer aircraft and F-5E/F lead-in fighter trainers.
Two AJT prototypes have since been built, and public test flights of the two planes were conducted last year in June and December.
The development of the jet trainer, codenamed Yung Ying or “Brave Eagle,” was carried out as part of the country’s efforts to become more militarily self reliant.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from