Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Washington DC
Source: Flightglobal.com - 6 hours ago[/URL]

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

has signed a contract to equip Taiwan’s F-16s with its Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod and the first two units are just about ready to deliver from the production site in

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

, Florida.

A company spokeswoman tells Flightglobal that two units will be delivered in the fourth quarter for integration by the US Air Force, which is running Taiwan’s F-16 upgrade programme through the American foreign military sales process.

Although it’s a small order initially, Lockheed’s missiles and fire control business can likely expect further orders down the road as the first two pods are fielded. The disclosure of deliveries to Taiwan comes just days after the company revealed Japan’s decision to carry Sniper Pod on its Mitsubishi Heavy Industries F-2.

Lockheed said in a 13 August statement that Taiwan has also contracted it to provide integration support for the LANTIRN targeting and navigation system, which is being employed on

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

’s recently modernised F-16s. Lockheed is currently upgrading 144 Taiwanese A-model F-16s, which includes the installation of Northrop’s Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR).

Taiwan is the 20th international customer for Lockheed's Sniper Pod – originally developed for the US military – and Japan's F-2 will be the eighth aircraft type to employ it. In May, Lockheed announced the sale of Sniper Pods to Romania and Thailand for their Lockheed F-16s.

The pod is carried externally, and can automatically track and laser-designate ground targets from great distances. Its day-and-night cameras are also a non-traditional source of intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance imagery. In addition to the F-2, Sniper is carried by the

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

F-15, F/A-18, B-1 and B-52 as well as the Lockheed F-16 and Fairchild Republic A-10.

The pod is a direct competitor to Northrop’s Litening G4 targeting pod, which is compatible with many of the same fighters and bombers, with the addition of the AV-8B Harrier.

Northrop’s version is produced in partnership with Rafael, which announced the development of the Litening G5 earlier this year, known as "G4 Advanced" outside of the USA. The new system adds an air-to-air targeting capability and is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2016.

Click to expand...

navyreco said:

Taiwan's CSIST Unveiled the Sea Oryx Naval Air Defense System Similar to RAM at TADTE 2015

Click to expand...

Taiwan highlights new features, further development for Tuo Jiang stealth corvette
Kelvin Wong, Taipei, Taiwan - IHS Jane's Navy International
19 August 2015

Key Points
Further development of Taiwan's latest stealth missile corvette, Tuo Jiang, is expected
These improvements are likely to be incorporated into future vessels of the class
While the Republic of China Navy (RoCN) had a relatively modest presence at the biennial Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), held from 13 to 16 August, it nevertheless took the opportunity to showcase some of its latest naval platforms in model form to visitors.

One of the highlights was a scale presentation of Tuo Jiang (pennant number 618): the service's newest surface combat asset assigned to the 131st Flotilla at Keelung. The vessel was handed over by shipbuilder Lung Teh Shipbuilding Company in December 2014 and subsequently commissioned in March 2015.

Official specifications released by the RoCN at TADTE 2015 state that the stealthy aluminium-hulled corvette - which features a wave-piercing catamaran hull form and a low radar cross-section (RCS) design - is 60.4 m long, 14 m wide, and has a draft of 2.3 m. The vessel displaces 567 tonnes at full combat load and is crewed by 41 personnel, including officers.

Propulsion is by a quad waterjet array with two waterjets fitted to each hull. While the RoCN declined to disclose their type, Sweden's MJP (Marine Jet Power) - which has worked with Lung Teh on several ship development programmes - revealed in a January 2014 announcement that the service had chosen its MJP CSU (Compact Steering Unit) 850 system, which according to MJP literature generates 7,935 bhp (5,917 kW) and is also used in the Taiwanese Coast Guard Administration's 65.1 m long, 500-tonne-class 720GT patrol ship. These waterjets enable Tuo Jiang to reach a stated maximum speed of 43 kt.

The ship's principal offensive capabilities come from its array of 16 indigenously developed anti-ship missiles housed amidships in raised launchers. These comprise the turbofan-powered Hsiung Feng (Brave Wind) II and the ramjet-powered Hsiung Feng III, the latter being dubbed the 'carrier killer' by its developer, Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST), during the 2011 iteration of TADTE. According to IHS Jane's Strategic Weapon Systems , the subsonic Hsiung Feng II is equipped with a 225 kg high-explosive (HE) semi-armour-piercing warhead and has a range of 81 n miles, while the supersonic Hsiung Feng III packs a 120 kg HE warhead and can engage targets up to 70.2 n miles away. It is known that extended-range variants of the Hsiung Feng II have been developed, but neither the RoCN nor CSIST would be drawn on whether these improved systems have been installed on Tuo Jiang .

Besides its anti-ship missiles, Tuo Jiang is armed with a 76 mm Oto Melara main gun. As well, two triple torpedo tubes enable it to engage in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) missions, while a stern-mounted Raytheon 20 mm Vulcan Phalanx close-in weapon system (CIWS) and four 12.7 mm machine guns provides point defence against missiles and small surface targets. Chaff dispensers mounted on the vessel's fore and aft sections improve its survivability against infrared- and radar-guided anti-ship missiles.

An RoCN official told IHS Jane's that the rear deck of Tuo Jiang is a multimission payload bay designed to accommodate up to two 20 ft (6.1 m) ISO-standard mission module containers, although the service is still deliberating on the type of systems to integrate onto the vessel.

"We are not ready to discuss what these modules will be as we are still trying to understand the capabilities and limitations of this new ship," he said. "However, we can essentially configure [it] to perform a wide range of missions such as mine countermeasures if deemed necessary."

IHS Jane's was also briefed on the other features of the vessel, which include mission bays in the rear of each hull. A towed sonar array is currently deployed from the port mission bay, while an overhead boom extends from the starboard bay to launch and recover a 6 m rigid-hull inflatable boat (RHIB).

With up to 12 stealth missile corvettes potentially being acquired under the TWD24.98 billion (USD801 million) Hsun Hai (Swift Sea) programme, data accumulated from ongoing evaluations of Tuo Jiang will influence the development as well as refinements to the follow-on vessels in the class.

Moreover, new technologies, such as the Sea Oryx surface-to-air missile (SAM) system and the navalised Tien Chien II air defence missile developed by CSIST, could potentially be incorporated onto subsequent Tuo Jiang-class vessels. Computer-generated video footage of the missile corvette employing both missile systems debuted at TADTE 2015, depicting a successful defence of the ship against multiple anti-ship missiles as well as the destruction of their launch platforms.

The Sea Oryx SAM is primarily designed to intercept anti-ship missiles, low-flying aircraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Employing either an eight-round or 16-round missile canister, the system launches a navalised and upgraded variant of the short-range Tien Chien I (Sky Sword I) air defence missile carried by the Taiwanese air force's Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) and the army's mobile ground-based Antelope air defence system. The navalised missile, however, features a new imaging infrared (IIR) seeker, an enhanced rocket motor, as well as folding control and stabilising fins. While the Sea Oryx SAM system is still under development, CSIST is offering it as a potential upgrade for the gun-based CIWS fitted on Tuo Jiang as well as other RoCN major surface combatants.

CSIST is also pushing a navalised variant of the radar-guided Tien Chien II air defence missile as an option for the Tuo Jiang class. Designed to engage airborne and missile targets at ranges beyond the naval Tien Chien I missile, the Tien Chien IIN has been upgraded with a rocket booster and thrust vector controller for extended range and increased manoeuvrability. Official performance data of the navalised missiles were not disclosed, but IHS Jane's Weapons: Naval notes that the Tien Chien IIN could have a maximum range of 21.5 n miles.

(1003 of 1169 words)

Click to expand...

Equation said:

New James Bond remake - "The Girl with the Golden Gun".

Click to expand...

Presidential candidate Tsai Ing-wen’s policy toward’s Taiwan’s defense industry

The US announced a $1.83-billion arms sale package for Taiwan on Dec. 16. The deal includes Perry-class frigates, Phalanx Close-In Weapon System, advanced Tactical Digital Information Link, AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles and other weapons systems. This could be the last US arms sale that takes place in Taiwan president Ma Ying-jeou’s term of office, and the major parts of the sale would be implemented in the next president’s term.

Between the two front runners of the election, the Kuomintang’s (KMT) Eric Chu is believed to be going to continue the current administration’s defense policy, which is well-known and has been widely discussed in the past 8 years. Thus, we will focus on the defense policy of opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) candidate Tsai Ing-Wen, with special attention to the defense industry policy that her campaign stresses.

According to Tsai, her defense industry policy emphasizes the development of Taiwan’s aviation, shipbuilding and information security industry. Specific projects include the production of: 1) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), 2) high-end trainer aircraft, 3) next generation fighter aircraft, 4) prototype submarines, and 5) developing an information security army. We will analyze each of the five projects.

1. UAV: a continuation of current policy

The DPP proposed several goals on UAVs. However, they are largely in line with the current policy of Taiwan’s Department of Defense (DOD). Since 2012, the DOD has mentioned UAVs in their reports to the Legislative Yuan on an annual basis. Some projects have been displayed and some have been put into production.

2. High-end trainer aircraft: being developed on practical basis, but the conditions of F-5E/F fleet are uncertain

The DPP decided to delay attaining new trainers (2 to 3 years) and make an extra investment of 45 billion Taiwan dollars. Except that the timing of the plan relies on best scenarios, the plan is rather practical. But the DPP ignored a potential risk, which is whether the F-5E/F can survive as a viable aircraft until the completion of the new trainer.

According to the US military’s evaluation of the F-5E/F in 2010, its efficiency would significantly fall and its risks would rise accordingly, unless large amounts of maintenance fees were included. Hence, the planned the substitution of high-end trainer aircraft between 2017 and 2022. Taiwan is expected to have 66 trainers starting from 2019.

3. Given that the F-5E/F was to be phased out after 2019, the investments in the F-5E/F in recent years have only been enough for basic pilot training, but not for extending its life-span and ameliorating its structure. If the timing of the substitution is delayed, the safety of F-5E/F would speedily decrease and the security risks to its pilots would proportionately rise.

4. The next generation fighter aircraft: Underestimation of the complexities and costs

This is an original plan by the DPP, but it represents its most groundless and problematic one. The proposal asserts that the possibilities of Taiwan procuring the US F-35B fighter is not high. Thus, the reasoning is that Taiwan should prioritize producing new indigenous fighters. The plan is to develop a new generation fighter by 2023, which would cost 80 to 100 billion Taiwan dollars. It would be produced in 2026, or even 2025 after only two years of test flying.

The biggest problem is that the plan is impractical, considering the capacities of Taiwan’s aviation industry. Take the (Euro fighter) EF-2000 fighter as an example. UK, Germany and Italy have been promoting it since 1985. But even with the collaboration of three major countries and their defense industries, the first prototype aircraft was built after 9 years in 1994. Mass production also had to wait until 2003. Thus, we can see how far the DPP’s plan is detached from reality.

On a cost basis, the R&D costs of advanced fighters built by various nations have largely increased. Even advanced industrial countries can hardly bear the costs. For instance, the R&D costs of the US F-35 has exceeded 100 billion dollars and prompted the participation of US allies like Japan.

Another problem is that the DPP plans to produce the new trainers and fighters simultaneously between 2017 and 2026. It is highly questionable whether Taiwan’s aviation industry has the manpower, resources and energy to deal with the R&D requirements of two different structures and generations of new aircraft, let alone upgrading its existing F-16A/B fighter which it got from the US.

5. Submarines: The DPP’s plan highly resembles the Taiwan navy’s current plan

On the part of shipbuilding industry, Tsai plans to initiate R&D for a prototype submarine in 2016. The plan aims at producing the sub within 10 years (2025). The proposal doesn’t vary much from the navy’s current plan.

The DPP also unfairly blames the KMT government for the country’s difficulties in building its own submarines. The KMT has actually been promoting a submarine building program for the last two years.

Tsai’s policy is more about easing voters’ concerns about an earlier DPP’s refusal to produce submarine in 2005.

6. Information security capacities: Wrong diagnosis of the problem

Tsai’s policy on information security includes establishing an information security army at the command level. However, given the manpower and energy of Taiwan’s national army, the best bet would be establishing a think tank to help R&D, so that the existent information security forces could focus on executing tasks.

Despite all the problems mentioned above, the party’s proposals to date indicate that the DPP has done deep research on Taiwan’s defense industries. The party has an appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of these industries, though the DPP’s policy is essentially a campaign ad which sometimes suffers from exaggeration and inaccuracy. At the same time, the DPP has proposed some specific plans. Such plans have also been lacking in the policy statements made by other major Taiwan political parties.

The efforts that the DPP has put into its defense proposals might even have some impact on Taiwan’s defense industries in the coming presidential election and are well worth observing.

Click to expand...

Franklin said:

According to this article the DPP has plans to build an advanced trainer and a next generation fighter jet between 2017 to 2026. Has anyone else heard more about these projects ? Maybe this is another case of faulty journalism or is the DPP aiming too high. I don't see the Taiwanese being able to do this without outside help. And even if they can get foreign help the timeline is still unrealistic.

Please, Log in or Register to view URLs content!

Click to expand...