Taiwan details new advanced missile and drone attack capabilities

By Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard

TAIPEI (Reuters) – Taiwan is creating missiles that may assault enemy air bases and produce down cruise missiles, and drones that may goal their firing areas, in line with a report by the military-owned physique making the weapons.

Taiwan final yr authorized T$240 billion ($8.20 billion) in additional army spending over the following 5 years as tensions with China, which claims the island as its personal territory, have hit a brand new excessive and Chinese language army planes have repeatedly flown by means of Taiwan’s air defence identification zone.

Taiwan plans to greater than double its yearly missile manufacturing capability to shut to 500 this yr, the island’s defence ministry mentioned final month, because it boosts its fight energy.

In a report back to parliament this week, a replica of which was reviewed by Reuters, the military-owned Nationwide Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Expertise supplied extra particulars of what the missiles and drones it’s creating may do in a conflict.

The Hsiung Sheng land-attack missile, which specialists say may have a variety of as much as 1,000km – is available in two variations: one with a high-explosive warhead to hit bunkers and hardened command centres, and different with “dispersal” munitions to take out airfield amenities, it mentioned.

Chieh Chung, a researcher at Taipei-based Nationwide Coverage Basis, mentioned the Hsiung Sheng may attain most bases underneath the Individuals’s Liberation Military’s Japanese Theatre Command, together with these close to Shanghai and the province of Zhejiang.

“It may enormously increase the nationwide military’s capability to delay or paralyse the Communist forces’ tempo of an invasion of Taiwan, making it arduous for them to attain a fast conflict,” he mentioned.

The superior Sky Bow III surface-to-air missile is designed to take down ballistic and cruise missiles, in addition to fighter jets.

Taiwan’s plans predate Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, however the conflict has prompted conversations in regards to the classes Taiwan may apply to preventing off a Chinese language assault, together with how Ukraine has resisted a numerically-superior power.

One Taiwan-based Western safety supply informed Reuters that though Taiwan was getting gear corresponding to Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the US, its personal missile programme would assist make sure the island wouldn’t should depend on overseas provides, as Ukraine has.

“It is a hedging technique,” the supply mentioned, talking on situation of anonymity.

The institute mentioned drones, which Ukraine has used to nice impact in opposition to Russia’s army, may assault enemy missile launch websites or act as decoys to assist pinpoint enemy radars.

4 new amenities, together with bases and restore crops, can be constructed by 2025 for the brand new drones, it mentioned.

The defence ministry has beforehand introduced plans to start out manufacturing unspecified “assault drones” with an annual manufacturing goal of 48 such plane.

Little has been disclosed in regards to the domestically produced drones. The primary batch of U.S.-made MQ-9 Reaper drones, which may be armed with missiles and function at lengthy vary, will enter service with Taiwan by 2025, the defence ministry mentioned final month.

About 64% of Taiwan’s additional army spending, which got here on prime of deliberate army spending of T$471.7 billion for 2022, will likely be spent on anti-ship weapons corresponding to land-based missile methods, together with a T$148.9 billion plan to mass-produce homegrown missiles and “high-performance” ships.

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen has made modernising the army a prime precedence, pushing for defence initiatives together with a brand new class of stealthy warship and home-grown submarines.

Tsai has championed what she calls “uneven warfare”: creating high-tech, extremely cell weapons which might be arduous to destroy and might ship precision assaults.

Taiwan believes China has 1000’s of missiles aimed toward its territory, and Chinese language forces dwarf these of Taiwan’s. China additionally has nuclear weapons, which Taiwan doesn’t.

China has by no means dominated out the usage of power to carry the democratic island underneath its management.

($1 = 29.2790 Taiwan {dollars})

(Reporting by Yimou Lee and Ben Blanchard; Modifying by Gerry Doyle)