Taiwan Drill Simulates Chinese Attack on Airport

Taiwan held a military exercise Jan. 23 simulating an attempt by rival China to seize an airport in the east, one of the most crucial military establishments in the area, officials said.

Hundreds of soldiers and a fleet of main battle tanks were mobilized in the drill at Hualien airbase, while F-16 fighters were scrambled, air force officials said.

Ties between China and Taiwan have improved significantly since Beijing-friendly Ma Ying-jeou became the island’s president in 2008, vowing to adopt a non-confrontational policy toward the mainland. Ma was re-elected in January last year for a second and last four-year term.

U.S. will sell advanced Patriot missiles to Taiwan in 2015

The United States will sell Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles to Taiwan in 2015 and this is Washington's firm promise, visiting U.S. Senator James Inhofe said Tuesday.

Prior to that sale, the U.S. will sell Taiwan 30 Apache attack helicopters this year and 60 Black Hawk transport helicopters in 2014, Inhofe said during a visit to President Ma Ying-jeou at the Presidential Office.

The co-chairman of the Senate Taiwan Caucus, a body consisting of senators friendly toward Taiwan, said the arms sales promises, as well as the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, are part of Washington's promise to Taiwan, although he added that Washington should do more to implement the act.

For his part, Ma recounted that former U.S. President George W. Bush approved the sale of a batch of arms to Taiwan five months after he took office in his first term, a decision that was maintained by President Barack Obama.

Ma said that during the first three years of his first term, Washington sold US$18 billion-worth of arms to Taiwan, which was the largest sale since 1979 and proof that the U.S. is honoring its promise to help Taiwan protect itself.

Noting that more than 47 senators and 181 representatives have written to Obama urging him to sell F-16 C/D fighter jets to Taiwan in the last two years, Ma said Taiwan's security is a cause of great concern to its friends in the U.S. Congress.


Ma reiterated during his meeting with Inhofe the country's proposal to shelve its disputes with Japan over the Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea and explore resources around the islands jointly.

Inhofe arrived in Taipei earlier in the day at the head of a 19-member congressional delegation for a two-day visit.

During a dinner party hosted by Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng later in the day, Inhofe was quoted by Legislator Lin Yu-fang as assuring Wang that he will convince a majority of U.S. senators to support Taiwan's request to buy the F-16 C/Ds.

Taiwan's new early warning radar system covers as far as 3,000 nautical miles

Taiwan's new early warning radar system covers nearly 360 degrees and a reconnaissance distance as far as 3,000 nautical miles that helped Taiwan detect North Korea's rocket launch even minutes earlier than Japan, a source with the Air Force has said.

The long-range early warning radar system helped the nation detected North Korea's rocket launch shortly after it blasted off Dec. 12, the source said.

The long-range early warning radar system installed at Loshan in Hsinchu County was formally inaugurated last month.

The source said that Taiwan's long-range radar can even collect information of some areas in Northeast Asia and Southeast Asia, including the disputed Diaoyutai Islands in the East China Sea and Taiping Island, the largest island in the Sprately Islands in the South Sea.

The Diaoyutai Islands, located about 100 natuical miles northeast of Taiwan, is under Japan's administrative control since 1972 , but is also claimed by Taiwan and China.

The budget of the U.S.-built radar system was increased by another US$200 million last year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.38 billin), an mount the Air Force found unacceptable and has asked for an arbitration.

Statistics showed that the system is more powerful than those of the same type currently in service in the United States, according to the source.


The radar can detect and track short- and long-range ballistic missiles and cruise missiles, the source said, adding that the radar can pinpoint the trajectory of any intruding missile and thus give Taiwan more time to prepare a response.

Taiwan Plans to Upgrade About 60 Fighter Jets in 2013

Taiwan plans to complete the first stage of an ambitious plan to upgrade its fighter jet force by the end of 2013, in an effort to maintain a credible deterrent against China into the 2030s.
Some 60 of Taiwan's Indigenous Defence Fighters (IDFs) will be upgraded and ready for deployment within 12 months, according to a report submitted to Parliament by the defense ministry.
The aircraft will be equipped with enhanced radar, avionics and electronic warfare capabilities, along with a locally-produced cluster bomb, according to the report.
The remainder of the country's 127-strong fleet of IDFs will be upgraded by 2017, the report said.
Taiwan deployed the IDFs in 1992 and the upgrade, which kicked off in 2009, will extend the service life of the aircraft for about another two decades according to the report, which was submitted to parliament last week and made available Dec. 31 to AFP by a legislator.

The United States last year agreed to equip Taiwan's 146 aging U.S.-built F-16 A/B jets with new technologies in a $5.85 billion deal that irked China.

Submarines recommended as way for Taiwan to better deter China

The head of an American think tank suggested Thursday that Taiwan should purchase submarines to strengthen its naval deployment amid the growing military imbalance between Taiwan and China.

Taiwan can put pressure on the Chinese armed forces with a stronger naval defense that includes submarines, argued Scott Bates, president of the Washington-based Center for National Policy (CNP), at a panel discussion in which he and two other U.S. scholars shared their observations from a trip to Taiwan in early December.

"It seems this (submarine) is a perfect naval asset for the defense of Taiwan in the protection of freedom and navigation in the Straits, in the South China and in the East China seas. And the current array of submarine forces that Taiwan has is not up to achieving those missions," Bates said.

Although Taiwan's policies do not include attacking Chinese civilians, its Air Force and Navy are not currently strong enough to deter China's People's Liberation Army, Bates said.

Taiwan's people may currently be unwilling to spend too much on national defense, which can cost a lot, but Taiwan still has to recognize the military imbalance across the Taiwan Strait, Bates warned.

One of the ways the country's military wants to address the imbalance is by buying advanced F-16 C/D fighter jets from the United States to bolster its arsenal, but Washington has yet to agree to the sale.

Bates suggested, however, that Taiwan consider other air assets than the more expensive F-16 C/D aircraft.

"I would suggest the Taiwanese consider the development of drone assets as well for the air. I think there are a lot of air assets that they can think about that are not as expensive and so that each year you're not set up for the idea that if you get this one magic system all will be well," Bates said.

"I think that other options need to be developed. (That) doesn't mean you give up on getting those other assets but you look at some new ones as well."

Taiwan's Air Force can hardly be compared with that of China, Bates said, but it could put pressure on the Chinese armed forces with a stronger naval defense.

Bates also suggested that the U.S. government provide military training and defensive arms to Taiwan.

Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks: Taiwan’s F-16 Upgrade

With a deal on new fighters seemingly halted, Taiwan is increasing the capabilities of its existing fighter aircraft. 

 Taiwan's plans to upgrade its 145 Lockheed Martin F-16 combat aircraft and its on-again off-again pursuit of 66 new-build F-16C/Ds have taken a couple of interesting turns in recent months – turns entirely related to the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) own upgrade of about 300 of its newer F-16s.

The USAF upgrade program has been thrust upon it by the continuing delays to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, which was supposed to replace the F-16 (among other aircraft) but has run into numerous delays. In the meantime, the USAF's F-16s will get an upgrade – called the Combat Avionics Programmed Extension Suite (CAPES) – that includes a new active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar, a new center display unit and the ALQ-213 electronic-warfare (EW) system.
This matters to Taiwan because of the Republic of China Air Force's own U.S. $5.3 billion upgrade program for its 145 F-16A/Bs, which was agreed to with Washington in September 2011. In August 2012 Taiwan signed a letter of agreement stating it would follow the USAF's radar selection, and like the USAF, it has also chosen original equipment manufacturer (OEM) Lockheed Martin to carry out the upgrades. By contrast, South Korea recently chose BAE Systems to upgrade its KF-16 fleet.

At about the same time that Taiwan agreed to follow the USAF's radar choice, the USAF was agreeing to let Lockheed Martin choose which radar to provide. This is a big deal. As I’ve noted in The Diplomat previously, one of the key developments in defense aerospace in recent years has been "the growth of sub-system renewal of avionics, sensors, cockpit displays and fire control radars" over brand new aircraft. Giving older F-16s an AESA fire control radar is one such upgrade and is currently a hotly contested battle between Northrop Grumman, which is offering its Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), and Raytheon, which has developed its Raytheon Advanced Combat Radar (RACR). Both are developed from radars already in service with the USAF or other air forces and both provide a major lift in combat capabilities for ageing aircraft.
Put simply, AESA radars allow modern multirole fighter aircraft to multitask: they can select multiple air and ground targets, detect multiple threats, and offer an "up to three-fold increase in performance together with a ten-fold increase in reliability," according to company officials. They also offer the possibility of an integrated radar/EW capability that could include digital radar warning, advanced electro-optical imaging and the use of radar as a communication tool. The step up is comparable to trading in a late 1990s Nokia for an iPhone.

Ukraine in Talks with Vietnam on Upgrading An-26 and the Supply of An-148 Planes

Ukraine is in talks with Vietnam on the supply of its An-148 planes, Prime Minister Nikolai Azarov said during an official visit to Hanoi.

“We have held concrete talks on the supply of An-148 planes to Vietnam and on upgrading An-26 planes,” Azarov said, adding that the two sides discussed cooperation in the military-technical sphere.

 

he new generation regional passenger plane An-148 was presented at Hanoi’s airport on November 15. General designer Dmitry Kiva, of the state-run enterprise Antonov, briefed the audience on the advantages of regional liners An-148 and An-158. He also suggested upgrading 20 An-26 planes that have been used in Vietnam for more than 30 years.

“We have suggested upgrading the An-26 in pretty much the same way as India’s An-32. This will make it possible to prolong their service life for more than 20 years. The upgrade will be more effective than the purchase of new planes of the same class,” he said.

An-148-100V is the base model, designed to carry 70-80 passenger on international and domestic routes.

 

Taiwan to buy Perry-class frigates from U.S

Taiwan will purchase two Oliver Hazard Perry-Class frigates from the United States in 2014, as part of its efforts to revive its aging fleet, a defense official confirmed Monday.

Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said the decommissioned frigates will be purchased with key onboard equipment such as the SQR-19 Towed Array Sonar system, which allows long-range passive detection of enemy submarines.

"This (the equipment) is necessary," Kao said at a hearing in the Legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee.

Kao was responding to questions by Legislator Lin Yu-fang of the ruling Kuomintang on the issue of buying the two frigates from the U.S. in 2014 at a cost of more than NT$7 billion (US$239.36 million).

Lin also asked about the progress of a project to replace the engine blades on Taiwan's fleet of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft.


Kao said the work is in progress and will be completed by the end of 2013.

Asked whether the problem with the engine blades was related to the Mirage fighter jet crash in France last month that killed a Taiwanese pilot, Kao said the cause of that accident is still under investigation.

Kao said he has asked the Air Force to obtain information on Mirage fighter crashes throughout the world over the past five years to help investigate the death of Col. Wang Tung-yi, who died in the crash in France during a training mission.

Taiwan begins building prototype missile boat

A Taiwanese shipbuilding company commissioned by the Navy has begun building a prototype missile boat for Taiwan, as part of the country's efforts to counter the military threat from China, a defense official said Monday.

The prototype will be around 450 tons, Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said in the Legislature's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, but declined to discuss any further details of the project.

He was responding to a legislator's question on whether the prototype will be outfitted with locally developed anti-ship missiles, the Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) III and Hsiung Feng II, as reported in the local media.

The reports are not entirely true, Kao told the committee, in response to the question by Legislator Lin Chia-lung of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

Indigenous weapons will be fitted on the prototype in order to beef up Taiwan's defense capabilities at a time when China is expanding its naval fleet and developing aircraft carriers, the minister said, but he did confirm whether the Hsiung Feng III and Hsiung Feng II missiles will be included.

Taiwan's Lung Teh Shipbuilding Co. began building the prototype missile boat earlier this month and is expected to complete the project in November 2014, according to the Navy.

With a range of about 150 kilometers, the supersonic Hsiung Feng III has been described as an "aircraft carrier killer." It is manufactured by the Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology in Taoyuan, the defense ministry's main research and development unit.

Taiwan Radar data will not be shared with US: MND

Taiwan will not share information gathered by its new early-warning surveillance radar system with the US after the system is completed by the end of the year, a defense official said yesterday.
Located at a military base at Leshan (樂山) in Hsinchu County, the long-range system will be a closed network and the military “will not offer” information collected by it to the US, said Lieutenant General Liu Shi-lay (劉溪烈), an official with the unit at the Ministry of National Defense responsible for communication, electronics and information.
Liu made the remarks in response to concerns raised by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) that the military would provide information collected by the radar system to the US.
At a hearing of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, Lu also expressed concern that the system, which Taiwan purchased from the US, would be more beneficial to Washington than to Taipei.
Lu said the information collected by the radar system will be more valuable for the US, in the event of missile attacks by China.

However, the ministry has said that the radar system is necessary to help strengthen Taiwan’s combat readiness in case of Chinese attack, given that China currently has about 1,600 missiles targeting Taiwan.
On the possibility that the US may be able to intercept data collected by the system, Liu said the US would be unable to access any information unless Taiwan shares it.
At the same session, Minister of National Defense Kao Hua-chu (高華柱) said Taiwan would purchase two Oliver Hazard Perry-Class frigates from the US in 2014, as part of its efforts to revive the navy’s aging fleet.
Kao said the decommissioned frigates would be purchased with key onboard equipment such as the SQR-19 Towed Array Sonar system, which allows long-range passive detection of enemy submarines.
“This is necessary,” Kao said responding to questions by KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) on the issue of buying the two frigates from the US for more than NT$7 billion (US$239.36 million).
Lin also asked about the progress of a project to replace the engine blades on Taiwan’s fleet of Mirage 2000-5 combat aircraft.
Kao said the project is progressing and will be completed by the end of next year.
When asked whether the problem with the engine blades was related to the Mirage fighter jet crash in France last month that killed a Taiwanese pilot, Kao said the cause of the accident is still under investigation. Kao added that he had asked the air force to obtain information on Mirage fighter crashes throughout the world over the past five years to help investigate the death of the pilot, Colonel Wang Tung-yi (王同義), who was killed when his plane crashed in France during a training mission.
Kao also confirmed that a Taiwanese shipbuilding company commissioned by the navy had begun building a prototype missile boat, but declined to discuss any further details of the project.
He was answering Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍)’s question on whether the prototype will be outfitted with locally developed anti-ship missiles the Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) III and Hsiung Feng II, as reported by local media.