The US is to help Taiwan obtain NATO’s Link-22 secure data link system, a Ministry of National Defense official said on Thursday.
Lee Shih-chiang (李世強), head of the ministry’s Department of Strategic Planning, made the statement at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs nd National Defense Committee following a local media report that the military is seeking to acquire the NATO system.
Link-22 is a secure digital radio system that is primarily used by military forces as a tactical data link. It is able to provide beyond line-of-sight communications that interconnects air, surface, subsurface and ground-based tactical data systems, while also facilitating the exchange of tactical data among the military units of participating nations.
Photo courtesy of the NATO Improved Link Eleven Project Management Office
Lee was also asked whether NATO’s secure system would be interoperable with the tactical data systems used by Taiwan’s military.
Lee said there were no problems with its own data link systems, but Link-22 enables a direct data link with the US military.
Sources have said that Taiwan is seeking to upgrade its existing system to Link-22, aiming to integrate the command and control systems, missiles and platforms developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
Chieh Chung (揭仲), an associate research fellow with the National Policy Foundation in Taipei, said that Taiwan’s data link system is based on Link-16.
Link-22, an upgraded version, boasts greater anti-jamming capabilities and improves command efficiency, while providing faster communications transmissions, Chieh added.
The NATO system can complement and interoperate easily with Link-16, Chieh said.
In the event of an attack, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army would definitely attempt to jam Taiwan’s communications systems through electronic warfare and Link-22 could help prevent that, he said.
Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at Taiwan’s Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said that NATO’s Link-22 was designed to improve the performance of Link-11, as it works on high frequency and ultra-high-frequency bands that can operate long distances without the need for a satellite.
Link-22 features an automatic grouping function that can fully map out the positions of enemy and friendly forces via a common operational picture, Su said.
The system’s long-distance transmission capability would greatly improve Taiwan’s combat effectiveness, while strengthening strategic, operational and tactical applications, he added.
Politically, if the US agrees to help Taiwan upgrade to the Link-22 system, that would mean NATO members have agreed to it, Chieh said.
Sources familiar with the matter said that China’s XS-3 and DTS-03 data link systems are superior to Taiwan’s Link-16.
The US assisting Taiwan in upgrading to Link-22 would be of great benefit to national defense and future military cooperation, the sources said.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A magnitude 4.9 earthquake struck off Tainan at 11:47am today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 32.3km northeast of Tainan City Hall at a depth of 7.3km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Tainan and Chiayi County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and County, and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Kaohsiung, Nantou County, Changhua County, Taitung County and offshore Penghu County, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
RSS