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Taiwan to produce potent new missile system: lawmaker

ROC Central News Agency

2011/09/08 23:08:25

By Lu Hsin-hui and Sofia Wu

Taipei, Sept. 8 (CNA) The Ministry of National Defense (MND) will bring forward production of a new missile system capable of hitting airports and harbors along China's southeastern coast, a ruling Kuomintang lawmaker said Thursday.

Production of the "Wan Chien" missile system, to be installed on upgraded Ching-kuo Indigenous Defense Fighters (IDFs) will be advanced to as early as 2014 from 2018, Legislator Lin Yu-fang said.

He said the ministry will begin system integration between the upgraded IDF jet fighters and the new missile, translated as the "Ten Thousand Swords" missile, late this year. If all goes smoothly, mass production of the missile system will start in 2014, he added.

Lin, a professor-turned-lawmaker who sits on the Legislative Yuan's Diplomatic and Defense Affairs Committee, said that as the military already took delivery of the upgraded IDF jet fighters from state-run Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. earlier this year, it decided to advance production of the potent new missile system.

Each missile carries more than 100 warheads capable of blowing dozens of small craters in airport runways and making them impossible to use, according to Lin.

"Taiwan's warplanes can strike military targets along China's southeast coast with the `Wan Chien' missiles from long distances to avoid the huge risk of getting deep into mainland China's aerial defense network," Lin said.