Air Defense Equipment |
Overview |
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| System | Source | Bases | Batteries | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 1990 | 1995 | 2000 | 2005 | 2010 | 2015 | 2020 | 2021 | 2025 | 2030 | |||
| TOTAL | |||||||||||||
| Chiang-Kong | Taiwan |
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Patriot PAC-3 | USA |
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | 9 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Patriot PAC-2 | USA |
|
-- | -- | -- | 3 | 3 | 3 | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Sky Bow II | -- | -- | -- | -- | ? | ? | -- | -- | -- | -- | |||
| Sky Bow I |
|
-- | -- | -- | 6 | 6 | 6 | 6 | -- | -- | -- | -- | |
| HAWK | USA |
|
20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Chaparral | USA |
|
-- | -- | -- | -- | |||||||
| Stinger | USA |
|
? | ? | ? | +(?) | +(?) | +(?) | +(?) | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Avenger | USA |
|
? | ? | ? | 47(?) | 47(?) | 47(?) | 47(?) | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Taiwan’s air defense capability exists to counter a range of threats from China including ballistic and cruise missiles, third- and fourth-generation fighters, and helicopters. In recent years, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army has increased the quantity and sophistication of its ballistic and cruise missiles and fighter aircraft opposite Taiwan, which has diminished Taiwan’s ability to deny PRC efforts to attain air superiority in a conflict.
Taiwan as positioned the bulk of its early warning, air, and air defense assets on the western side of the island nearest the Taiwan Strait to challenge any threat from the mainland. Although Taiwan has some domestically produced fighter aircraft and surface-to-air missile ( SAM) batteries, the Taiwan authorities have purchased the majority of their air and air defense infrastructure from the United States and, to a lesser extent, other foreign suppliers.
Central to Taiwan’s SAM network are the area air defense systems, which include the long-range U.S.-produced Patriot PAC-2 Modified Air Defense System (MADS), the long-range Taiwan-produced Tien Kung-I (TK-I) and Tien Kung II (TK-II), and medium-range U.S.-produced Improved Homing All-the-Way Killer (I- HAWK). In addition to providing protection for key strategic installations, Taiwan positions several of these systems on outer islands to provide coverage along key air avenues of approach from the mainland.
- TK-I: Batteries are in Keelung, Kaoshiung, Penghu, Tungyin, Lungtan, and Sanchih. Taiwan has both fixed and mobile variants of the TK-I launcher. The missile has a 120 km engagement range.
- TK-II: Batteries are in Sanchih, Tungyin, Penghu, and Lungtan. The TK-II is launched from mobile launchers, and has a 300 km engagement range. Taiwan intends to replace some I-Hawk batteries with TK-II systems beginning in 2010.
- Patriot PAC-2 MADS: Taiwan has three Patriot PAC-2 batteries around Taipei.
- I-HAWK: A mainstay of Taiwan’s SAM network is the I- HAWK medium-range SAM, which is used to fill-in long-range SAM coverage gaps and protect several of its key military installations. Taiwan has 13 I- HAWK batteries.
In early October 2025, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) leader President Lai Ching-te unveiled plans for a new multi-layered air defense system known as the “Operation Protective Edge,” a project explicitly inspired by Israel’s Iron Dome and America’s Golden Dome. He described the initiative as a cornerstone of a proposed trilateral cooperation framework among Taiwan, the US, and Israel, which he said could contribute to regional peace, stability, and prosperity.
Taiwan’s existing air defense architecture already relied heavily on the US-made Patriot missile systems and the domestically developed Sky Bow (Tien Kung) series. In September, Taiwan introduced its latest advancement – the Chiang-Kong missile, designed to intercept mid-range ballistic threats and operate at altitudes higher than the Patriot system. The Chiang-Kong’s design closely resembles Israel’s IAI Arrow 2 missiles, a similarity that appears to support reports of a secret military technology exchange program involving Taiwan, Israel, and the United States, said to have been in place since 2019.
The T-Dome will integrate Taiwan's existing air defense systems, including US-made Patriot missiles and domestically developed Sky Bow and Chiang-Kong missiles, into one unified command-and-control network. The system is based on a "sensor-to-shooter" model, designed to link radar data from various ground stations to weapon systems for faster, more efficient target engagement and a higher kill rate. It is intended to defend against a range of aerial threats, including aircraft, drones, cruise missiles, and ballistic missiles. The plan is part of a broader commitment by the Taiwanese government to significantly increase defense spending to over 3% of GDP by 2026 and 5% by 2030.
The Sky Bow series, particularly the Tien Kung III, forms the backbone of Taiwan's current mid-altitude domestic air defense. These form a major part of the existing systems that the T-Dome will link together. Chiang-Kong is Taiwan's newest air defense missile, publicly unveiled in September 2025. It is specifically designed to intercept mid-level ballistic missiles and reach higher altitudes than existing systems like the US-made Patriot missiles, thus adding a crucial high-altitude layer to the "T-Dome".
A senior Taiwanese official confirmed that the T-Dome spending plans would be part of a special defense budget proposal to be submitted to the legislature by the end of 2025. Reports indicate this special budget could be as much as NT$1.3 trillion (approximately US$39 billion) over a seven-year timeframe. The final amount is still pending legislative approval.
Taiwan was also seeking assistance from the United States with the integration process and supply chain collaboration, though specific direct funding details for the T-Dome's development from the US are not public. The US does provide separate foreign military financing and arms sales to Taiwan. The funding approach was intended to signal Taiwan's commitment to self-defense and create a robust, domestically-supported defense industrial base. Securing the special budget may face challenges, however, as the ruling party currently lacks a majority in the legislature.
