Tien Tan Advanced Combat System Ship [AEGIS]
Taiwan has sought to purchase the American AEGIS Advanced Combat System in an effort to boost sea defenses against the mainland, and has developed plans to buy as many as four Aegis destroyers. Taiwan regards the ACS system on board the Aegis-guided missile destroyer as a standard for the navy in the 21st century. If approved, the ship will be known as the "ACS Ship" or Tien Tan (Altar of Heaven ) and would be commissioned in 2008 at the earliest.
The navy had intended to upgrade the eighth Cheng Kung-class missile frigate the Tien Tan, to Aegis-class by equipping it with Aegis-class weaponry systems. The Taiwan Navy PFG-2 Class frigates variant of the US Navy PERRY (FFG 7) Class included incorporation of unique Taiwan weapons and ship systems into the Class. An upgrade of the Class was developed incorporating a Lockheed Martin AN/SPY-1F phased array radar, vertical launch system and other anti-air warfare features, as well as signature improvements. In 1992 the United States offered this scaled-back version of the Aegis system for installation on Taiwan's Perry-class frigates. Taiwan had evaluated the possibility of building two more Chen Kung-class warships equipped with a "mini-AEGIS" systems, but the Chen Kung is too small for the system and the performance of the mini-AEGIS might prove sub-standard. The program was finally suspended due to the cost and technical risk involved.
Navy Deputy Chief-of-Staff expressed Taiwan's interest in Aegis to American officials in 1998, and during his visit to US in late 1998, Chief-of-General Staff Tang Fei was advised of US willingness to transfer such technology. At that point, it was contemplated that the United State might consider selling the requested warships to Taiwan after the current US construction program is completed in 2002. The construction period for an Aegis-class warship is approximately 4 years, so the first ordered warship could be completed in 2006. This, plus 2 years for training, means that the ordered warships could be commissioned in 2008 at the earliest. On the eve of the annual US-Taiwan defense procurement talks it appeared that an understanding has been reached whereby the United States would agree to transfer Aegis combat system technology to Taiwan. The ROC military submitted a formal request for the AEGIS Advanced Combat System (ACS) during the April 1999 meeting. American officials indicated that while export of the combat system can be further discussed, sale of entire Aegis warships to Taiwan would not be possible given possible objections from Beijing.
Consequently, Taiwan may devise its own hull solution for the Aegis platform. Taiwan continued to look for countries with the capability of building the platform for the ACS system, which include Japan, Spain, Italy and France. The displacement of this vessel may be between 9,000 and 12,000 tons and its exterior will be designed with the stealth capability similar to the Arleigh Burke guided-missile destroyer and the Lafayette class frigate. While Taiwan is continuing to seek the sale of the whole Aegis warship, talks were put on hold because of the anti-US sentiment in China resulting from NATO's 1999 bombing of the Chinese embassy in Belgrade.
Given budgetary constraints, Taiwan must choose between the purchase of the Aegis-guided missile destroyer or new submarines, although priority is given to the purchase of Aegis-guided missile destroyer. Due to the high cost of Aegis ships, the military has revised the requirement (downward) to between two and four units, depending on budgetary resources. The ROC General Staff has expressed concerns about the Navy's ability to meet the ship's manning requirements, and about potential susceptibility of such high-value naval targets to PRC attacks. The Navy tentatively plans to deploy the Aegis ships on Taiwan's east coast, so as to reduce potential vulnerabilities.
Larry Wortzel, director of Asia studies at the Heritage Foundation, has proposed that the US begin building four extra Arleigh Burke destroyers without promising them to Taiwan. In 2005, when the destroyers would be complete, the US could either sell them to Taiwan or keep them for US needs. According to US Department of Defense estimates, it might take eight to ten years to define an Aegis system configuration for Taiwan's navy, build the ships, and integrate them into Taiwan's fleet. In early 2001 it appeared that President Bush's top aides had concluded that Taiwan did not yet have the capacity to incorporate the Aegis system into a network that could protect Taiwan against a missile attack.
As of early 2001 China had about 300 short-range ballistic missiles aimed at Taiwan, and was adding to the this force at a rate of about 50 missiles each year. Each Aegis destroyer can carry up to 96 interceptors, which is enough to intercept perhaps 50 to 75 incoming missiles. By 2008, when the Aegis-equipped ships might enter Taiwan's fleet, China might have over 700 missiles within range of Taiwan. Thus, by 2008 Taiwan might require at least ten Aegis-class ships, were it to rely on this system alone for missile defense purposes. And apart from whatever anti-missile capabilities might be provided by other land-based systems, Taiwan might need to add an additional Aegis-class ship to its fleet every year thereafter to counter a continued Chinese missile buildup.
In late 2002 the US government was discussing a program for Taiwan to acquire the Aegis combat system, if Taipei agreed to build the platform to carry it. The project would be based on South Korea's KDX-3 Aegis destroyer programme. An offer was expected to be made officially in 2003 or 2004. The plan will help China Shipbuilding Corp (CSBC), which would build the ships.
In August 2004 it was reported that the United States planned to sell four Aegis missile-defense warships to the island to help protect against an estimated 500 ballistic missiles aimed at it by China.
The $3.5 billion sale would be announced in 2005 with delivery to begin in 2011, if the Legislature passes the budget in 2007. But a defense source, said that Taiwan hadn't submitted a Letter Of Request, thus it would be impossible for the US to makes such an announcement. When Taiwan's Navy submitted a Letter of Request in 2002 to US authorities requesting AEGIS-equipped warships, the Bush Administration did not respond. Orders for additional AEGIS-equipped ships by the US Navy are scheduled to end around late 2006 or early 2007, with the final Arleigh-Burke being delivered in 2011.
