The ministry does not comment on weapons programs, but it is well known that the military has been trying to extend the range of the missile for some timeThe Ministry of National Defense (MND) yesterday refused to comment on a report in US-based Defense News the previous day that claimed that Taiwan was developing a new type of anti-ship cruise missile.
In a report titled “Taiwan Anti-Ship Missile Plan Place China’s Navy in Cross Hairs,” Defense News said that an unnamed Taiwanese defense industry source had informed it that the Taiwanese military was planning to build an extended-range anti-ship missile, possibly a variant of the Hsiung Feng III (HF-3) “Brave Wind” surface-to-surface missile (pictured above, right, with HF-2 next to it).
Once developed, the military would deploy the new missile on the eastern side of Taiwan and direct it across the Taiwan Strait at the Chinese coast, it said.
My article, published today in the Taipei Times, continues here.
"According to Defense News, China’s People’s Liberation Army Navy is especially vulnerable to submarine attacks, given its weak anti-submarine warfare capabilities."
ReplyDeleteWeak relative to what standard and in what context? ASW near the first island chain against six U.S. nuke subs supported by their own ASW vessels? Or ASW in their own noisy littoral waters trying to pick out a few quiet little diesel-electric subs? Different question.
I wonder if there's been any movement on buying those type 214s from Germany? After they sold them to the Koreans, the Germans had to iron out the technical problems so presumably a purchase by Taiwan would benefit from that.
If those subs could lurk undetected at various points along the Chinese coast for a month or so at a time, then it would surely be worth developing a sub-capable land attack variant of the Hsiung Feng.