Taiwan has put forth plans to upgrade naval and air force missile systems in the coming years.
According to a report by the national news agency, the Taiwanese Navy will upgrade the air defenses of its six Kang Ding-class frigates through new missile system installation in a project worth 43.15 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.55 billion).
The proposed project was included in the budget filed by the Ministry of National Defense at the Legislative Yuan for the fiscal year 2022.
In this project, the Sea Sword II missile system will replace the current Sea Chaparral system. The Sea Sword II has been developed by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology.
The amount covered in the proposed budget is for upgrades from 2022 through 2030.
New Missiles for F-16s
Taiwan’s fleet of F-16 fighter jets will also receive a missile system upgrade.
In a project valued at $47 billion New Taiwan dollars ($1.69 billion), the country will purchase a yet undefined range of missile systems from the United States from 2022 through 2027.
According to a source cited by Taipei Times, it is likely that Taiwan will purchase the AGM-88 High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile, the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon glide bomb, the AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response, the B variant of the AGM-99, and the C variant of the AGM-154.
Earlier in August, the US State Department approved a potential arms sale to Taiwan in a deal worth $750 million. The deal is to increase the capability of the island to defend itself from a possible invasion.