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Patriot missile explodes during Taiwan military drill; repeated accidents reveal outdated weapon, low maintenance capacity: expert

Global Times

By Feng Fan Published: Aug 20, 2025 10:41 PM

A US-made Patriot II missile fired by the military forces of the Taiwan authorities exploded just four seconds after launch during a live-fire exercise early Wednesday morning, before a second missile was launched successfully, the China Times, a Taiwan-based media outlet, reported. An expert noted that such accidents are not rare, underscoring maintenance shortcomings and reliability issues within the region's military.

According to the China Times, this was not the first time the Patriot system malfunctioned during drills, with the most recent abnormal incident reported in 2023. The outlet cited military officials as saying that similar self-destruction incidents had occurred more than twice in the past, though not all were publicly disclosed.

The missile launched on Wednesday was an older Patriot II model, though Taiwan's "National Chung-shan Institute of Science and Technology" and US contractors have made both hardware and software upgrades, the report said.

The island of Taiwan is now working to upgrade to the Patriot III system, but the current stock remains largely Patriot II missiles. Local investigators and the US side are collecting data to determine the cause of the malfunction, the China Times reported.

Zheng Jian, a professor at the Taiwan Research Institute of Xiamen University, told the Global Times on Wednesday that the repeated accidents reveal both the outdated nature of US-provided military equipment and the limited maintenance capacity of the region's military.

"In the confined terrain of the island of Taiwan, live-fire drills should be handled with utmost responsibility. But such incidents are not uncommon," Zheng said. He added that the reliance of Lai Ching-te and the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities on purchasing US weapons in pursuit of using force to resist reunification and pursue independence only exposes the weakness of such illusions.

The mishap follows a string of training accidents during July's "Han Kuang exercises" on the island of Taiwan. Taipei-based Central News Agency reported that on July 12, a light reconnaissance tactical vehicle struck a roadside curb, injuring three soldiers. Local media TaiwanPlus News also posted videos on social media showing military vehicles colliding with civilian scooters and parked cars on July 11.

The latest accident comes as the Lai authorities announced plans to raise the 2026 defense budget to more than 3 percent of GDP, primarily to fund military purchases from the US. Responding to this, Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said that the mainstream public opinion on the island of Taiwan is for peace, development, dialogue and cooperation.

The Lai authorities, for the sake of one party's private interests, disregards the public opinion on the island, willingly acts as a "cash machine" for US arms dealers, continually expands the military budget, promotes the mentality of urging everyone to be soldiers and ties the people of Taiwan to the "Taiwan independence" war chariot, attempting to "use force to seek independence," Zhu said, adding that these actions threaten the safety and interests of the people of Taiwan.

Their despicable actions as "war merchants" will inevitably be opposed by the people on the island and the international community. Relying on external forces to seek independence and using military means to pursue independence will ultimately lead to their own downfall, the spokesperson said.