All 46 MK-48Mod6 AT heavyweight torpedoes Taiwan purchased from the US are to be delivered in 2025, a source in the military said yesterday, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The source said the shipment was originally to be delivered by 2028, but the Ministry of National Defense, after several rounds of discussions with the US, arranged the delivery for the first half of 2025, the source said.
However, the source said that Washington recently told Taiwan that part of the order would be shipped in the second half of that year.
Photo courtesy of Raytheon Co
The ministry thanked the US for acknowledging Taiwan’s needs in the current cross-strait situation.
The arms package was first discussed in 2017. At the time, the US government was willing to sell Taiwan 46 torpedoes, 36 of which would be for combat use and 10 would be for training.
The order was supposed to total US$250 million.
However, the navy held several rounds of talks with the US and modified its order, reducing the numbers to 24 combat torpedoes and four training torpedoes totaling NT$5.46 billion (US$178.19 million), and asking for delivery by 2028.
Another arms package ordered on May 20, 2020, included 18 torpedoes of the same specification, bringing the total of torpedoes purchased back to 46, the military said.
The navy’s two Jianlong-class submarines and the upcoming Indigenous Defense Submarine prototype would be equipped with them, it said.
The new type of submarine would be capable of carrying 18 torpedoes, and should it pass trials and enter mass production, the navy would order seven more of the vessles, the military said, adding that it would buy more torpedoes from the US to outfit them.
The military said the MK-48Mod6 AT heavyweight torpedoes have a better range, speed and guidance system than the currently used German-made SUT 264 heavyweight wire-guided torpedoes.
The military said the US-made torpedoes are used by the US Navy, ensuring continued efficacy, ready supply and continued updates and upgrades.
The military said the new torpedoes have a maximum speed of 55 knots (102kph), or 60 percent faster than the SUTs, while their maximum range of 50km, at 40 knots, is 25 percent greater than the SUTs’.
Upgrades would focus on increased sound suppression during launches, which seeks to prevent the target from acquiring sonar signals of the launch, the military said.
ANOTHER EMERGES: The CWA yesterday said this year’s fourth storm of the typhoon season had formed in the South China Sea, but was not expected to affect Taiwan Tropical Storm Gaemi has intensified slightly as it heads toward Taiwan, where it is expected to affect the country in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 8am yesterday, the 120km-radius storm was 800km southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan’s southernmost tip, moving at 9kph northwest, the agency said. A sea warning for Gaemi could be issued tonight at the earliest, it said, adding that the storm is projected to be closest to Taiwan on Wednesday or Thursday. Gaemi’s potential effect on Taiwan remains unclear, as that would depend on its direction, radius and intensity, forecasters said. Former Weather Forecast
As COVID-19 cases in Japan have been increasing for 10 consecutive weeks, people should get vaccinated before visiting the nation, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said. The centers reported 773 hospitalizations and 124 deaths related to COVID-19 in Taiwan last week. CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) on Tuesday said the number of weekly COVID-19 cases reported in Japan has been increasing since mid-May and surpassed 55,000 cases from July 8 to July 14. The average number of COVID-19 patients at Japan’s healthcare facilities that week was also 1.39 times that of the week before and KP.3 is the dominant
The Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) working group for Taiwan-related policies is likely to be upgraded to a committee-level body, a report commissioned by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said. As Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) is increasingly likely to upgrade the CCP’s Central Leading Group for Taiwan Affairs, Taiwanese authorities should prepare by researching Xi and the CCP, the report said. At the third plenary session of the 20th Central Committee of the CCP, which ended on Thursday last week, the party set a target of 2029 for the completion of some tasks, meaning that Xi is likely preparing to
US-CHINA TRADE DISPUTE: Despite Beijing’s offer of preferential treatment, the lure of China has dimmed as Taiwanese and international investors move out Japan and the US have become the favored destinations for Taiwanese graduates as China’s attraction has waned over the years, the Ministry of Labor said. According to the ministry’s latest income and employment advisory published this month, 3,215 Taiwanese university graduates from the class of 2020 went to Japan, surpassing for the first time the 2,881 graduates who went to China. A total of 2,300 graduates from the class of 2021 went to the US, compared with the 2,262 who went to China, the document showed. The trend continued for the class of 2023, of whom 1,460 went to Japan, 1,334 went to