Zitat:Taiwan Unveils New Vehicle, Stresses Need for Defenses
By AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, NANTOU, Taiwan


Taiwan President Chen Shui-bian on Jan.11 unveiled a new, homemade armored vehicle, stressing the need to beef up self-defense capabilities with rival China preparing a hostile law aimed at the island.

“Beijing has continued to suppress Taiwan’s space in the international community and even attempts to create a legal basis for the use of force against Taiwan in the so-called anti-secession law,” Chen said at a military base in central Taiwan.

“Therefore, A Bian (Chen’s nickname) urges the public to support the (government) policy of strengthening self-defense capabilities,” he said while unveiling the eight-wheeled, CM-32 armored vehicle.



Beijing is mulling a law aimed at preventing Taiwan from becoming independent, which analysts said could create the legal basis for China to take the island by force or pressure it to accept reunification.

Zitat:The CM-32 (“Yun Pao” or “Cloud Leopard”) is Taiwan’s new IFV (Infantry Fighting Vehicle.) Prototypes were recently demonstrated. Taiwan plans to begin manufacturing as many as 1,400 of the vehicles by 2007. Estimated to cost $2.1 million each, the 21 ton wheeled (8x8) vehicle carries six troops, plus a two man crew. The United States tried to sell Taiwan the Stryker, but Taiwan wanted to keep the jobs at home, and needed a less expensive vehicle. Taiwan went with a wheeled vehicle because it needs fast moving armored vehicles in the event of a Chinese invasion (which could happen at several different coastal areas, in addition to paratroop landings. Most CM-32s will just carry infantry, but others will carry heavy weapons (120mm mortars or a 105mm gun.) The CM-32 doesn't have the elaborate, and expensive, electronic gear of the Stryker, which helped keep the price down.

Zitat:Taiwan Takes Delivery of Two E-2T Early Warning Aircraft
Taiwan on May 20 took delivery of two E-2T Hawkeye early warning aircraft from the United States to strengthen its defense capabilities against rival China. [...]
China has deployed at least 700 ballistic missiles facing the island and the number could rise to 800 before the end of 2006, according to the Defense Ministry.

The new aircraft are expected to expand the surveillance range of radar and carry out all-weather operations to improve Taiwan’s airborne early warning system capabilities, it said.

They can also guide fighters to execute interception and control missions, conduct regional air surveillance and electronic reconnaissance. [...]
To counter China’s arms buildup, Taiwan’s cabinet in March submitted to parliament a reduced arms package to procure $15.5 billion worth of U.S.-made weaponry, after the previous $20 billion proposal was rejected.

The revised package, pending approval by parliament, calls for the purchase of eight conventional submarines, a modified version of the Patriot anti-missile system and a fleet of anti-submarine aircraft over a 15-year period from 2005. [...]

Zitat:Taiwan baut eigene Marschflugkörpern
Cruise missile soll laut Pressemeldung Shanghai erreichen können - China will seine Seegrenzen erweitern

Taipeh - Taiwan hat nach einem Medienbericht einen selbst gebauten Marschflugkörper entwickelt und will demnächst mit der Produktion im größeren Umfang beginnen. Die "Cruise missile" könne die chinesische Hafenmetropole Shanghai erreichen, berichtete die Zeitung "Liberty Times" am Montag unter Berufung auf taiwanesische Militärkreise. Die bisherige Reichweite der "Hsiungfeng-2E" solle demnächst von 600 auf 1000 Kilometer verbessert werden. (...)

Zitat:ACCIDENT: A fire in a Cheng Kung Class frigate on Saturday night was far enough from the ship's weapons and oil tank that damage was not significant, the navy said

Zitat:Taiwan's AIDC proposes future fighter
By Siva Govindasamy

Taiwan's Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation (AIDC) is studying the development of a successor to its F-CK-1 Indigenous Defence Fighter (IDF), with the so-called F-CKX to enter service by the end of the next decade given approval by the nation's defence ministry. ...

Zitat:Taiwan’s military orders armor for its vehicles from bathroom brand HCG
Ceramics specialist only qualified Taiwanese supplier for CM-34 armor

Zitat:TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of National Defense will spend NT$226.65 million (US$8.08 million) on armor from HCG (和成欣業), a manufacturer of bathroom fixtures, for its armored vehicles, reports said Tuesday (Jan. 12).

HCG, also known as Hocheng, is the only company inside Taiwan qualified to produce the required external armor for the eight-wheeled CM-34 “Clouded Leopard” Taiwan Infantry Fighting Vehicle, UDN reported.

The company should be able to supply its product to the military by Feb. 10, 2022. It has been involved in other military contracts before, mostly in how to develop the use of ceramics for bulletproof materials, according to the report.

Countless live-fire tests were conducted before HCG won approval as the only qualified supplier of the armor. Initially, the military had ordered 284 of the CM-34 vehicles but later added an additional 21.

Zitat:Taiwanese navy completes trials of ‘Sea Sword II' air-defence missile

The Republic of China Navy (RoCN) has announced that it recently completed trials and evaluations of the new medium-range Hai Chien II (‘Sea Sword II') air-defence missile that will arm the improved variant of Taiwan's Tuo Chiang (also spelled Tuo Jiang)-class fast missile corvettes. [...] The ‘Sea Sword II' is also expected to replace the Sea Chaparral point defence systems on the RoCN's Kang Ding (La Fayette)-class frigates.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that the first improved Tuo Chiang-class corvette on order for the RoCN, TaChiang (pennant number 619), is expected to enter service in August after being launched on 15 December 2020 at the facilities of Taiwan's Lungteh Shipbuilding in Suao, southern Yilan County. [...] Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, who presided over the launch ceremony, said at the time that Taipei aims to build a total of six of these improved ships by 2023, with up to five additional ones expected to be built thereafter.

Developed under the Hsun Hai programme, the Tuo Jiang-class vessels are designed to provide the RoCN with a high-end, asymmetric means to defeat amphibious landing and capital ships.

Zitat:Taiwan testing ship-borne ‘Sea Oryx' short-range, air-defence system

Images have emerged online showing the Republic of China Navy's (RoCN') Kaohsiung (LCC-1) command ship (ex-USS Dukes County) being used to test the locally developed, shipborne ‘Sea Oryx' short-range, air-defence (SHORAD) system.

The images, which emerged in early June, show that the system – Taiwan's version of the Raytheon RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile system – has been located on the stern of the ship, which is often used by the RoCN and the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) as a test platform for indigenous radar and missile systems. [...] The photographs indicate that after six years of research and development, the ‘Sea Oryx' has now entered the sea testing phase. [...]

The missile has a maximum effective range of 9 km and can reach a maximum altitude of 3 km. The ‘Sea Oryx' is deployed from a pivoting multi-axis launcher providing rapid engagement of a number of targets.