Taiwan is to build 12 new indigenous Tien Kung or Sky Bow III (TK III) land-based surface-to-air missile sites by the end of 2026 to counter the threat of China’s ballistic missiles, according to a Ministry of National Defense (MND) report.
The report, sent to the Legislative Yuan on Oct. 20 for a defense budget review, said the new sites were needed based on the advice of Taiwan’s top military research unit, the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology.
It said the institute has found that older generations of TK missiles it built, the TK IIs, could no longer counter the threat of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s advanced ballistic missile systems and needed to be modernized.
Photo: Tsai Tsung-hsien, Taipei Times
Consequently, the MND decided to upgrade its existing MIM-23 Hawk missile system sites and TK II missile sites and turn them into 12 new missile sites for the more advanced TK III land-based surface-to-air missiles, the report said.
It did not disclose how many TK III land-based surface-to-air missile sites Taiwan already has around the country.
The first phase of the project, the upgrading of six old missile sites into sites compatible with the TK IIIs, began last year and is expected to be completed before the end of 2025.
Work on the remaining six TK III missile sites began earlier this year and should be completed before the end of 2026, the MND said in the report.
According to the institute’s Web site, the TK III system is designed to engage different threats, including aircraft, cruise, anti-radiation and short-range tactical missiles.
The system can also launch older versions of missiles in the TK family, including TK I and II missiles.
The TK III system is being operated in conjunction with the US-bought PAC system as the backbone of Taiwan’s low-altitude air defense system, the institute said on its Web site.
SEND A MESSAGE: Sinking the amphibious assault ship, the lead warship of its class, is meant to show China the US Navy is capable of sinking their ships, an analyst said The US and allied navies plan to sink a 40,000-tonne ship at the latest Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise to simulate defeating a Chinese amphibious assault on Taiwan. This year’s RIMPAC — the 29th iteration of the world’s largest naval exercise — involves the US, 28 partners, more than 25,000 personnel, 40 warships, three submarines and more than 150 aircraft operating in and around Hawaii from yesterday to Aug. 1, the US Navy said in a press release. The major components of the event include multidomain warfare exercises in multiship surface engagements, anti-submarine warfare and multi-axis defense of a carrier strike
Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China when traveling in countries with close ties to Beijing, Taiwan Association of University Professors deputy chairman Chen Li-fu (陳俐甫) said on Friday. Chen’s comments came after China on Friday last week announced new judicial guidelines targeting Taiwanese independence advocates. Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Djibouti are among the countries where Taiwanese could risk being extradited to China, he said. The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday elevated the travel alert for China, Hong Kong and Macau to “orange” after Beijing announced its guidelines to “severely punish Taiwanese independence diehards for splitting the country and inciting secession.” Extradition treaties
The airspace around Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport and Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) is to be closed for an hour on July 25 and July 23 respectively, due to the Han Kuang military exercises, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The annual exercise is to be held on Taiwan proper and its outlying islands from July 22 to 26. During last year’s exercise, the military conducted anti-aircraft landing drills at the Taoyuan airport for the first time, for which a one-hour no-fly ban was issued. Based on a live-fire bulletin sent out by the Maritime and Port Bureau, the nation’s
Taiwan and Thailand have signed an agreement to promote and protect bilateral investment and trade, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN) said on Friday. The agreement on “Promotion and Protection of Investments” was signed by Representative to Thailand Chang Chun-fu (張俊福) and Thailand Trade and Economic Office in Taipei executive director Narong Boonsatheanwong on Thursday, the OTN said in a news release. Thailand has become the fifth trading partner to sign an investment agreement with Taiwan since 2016, following earlier agreements with the Philippines, India, Vietnam and Canada, the OTN said. The deal marks a significant milestone in the development of