Taiwan Military News, Reports, Data, etc.

[tupolevtu144]

Those numbers seem a bit off.
Last time I saw the numbers were 2.4b for 100 HCDS launchers and 400 Harpoons.

I think this is the right kind of system to buy in terms of a defense perspective. However, I think as people mentioned, PLA has already developed the counter. J-16 covered by J-16D EW as well as Y-8EW to conduct SEAD and then take out these targets. Any surprise Y-8 recon types are the most commonly flown aircraft?

PAVE PAWs is very powerful, but the issue is being a fixed target makes it totally vulnerable to BM attack. If you move HAWK and Patriot batteries to protect it, then that leaves the AShM launchers vulnerable to aircraft attack. Avenger Stingers are useless against J-16.

I think the greatest hinderance to the military on Taiwan is money. There are so many aspects of defense to cover, and the reality is that you can't say "only invest in the air force" or "only invest in the navy", when the reality is that any modern conflict is a combined arms affair. Canada has many times the landmass and about equal population to Taiwan, but only an active air force half the size.

With this in mind, I think they should prioritize self-developed systems.
1. The obvious self-sufficiency angle
2. Minimize cost for buying US equipment

US Defense contractors are public companies, they are not helping you for free. Either make the US government pay for the equipment (like Israel does), or get the cheapest price possible

The new numbers are the official cost. Taiwan is currently only buying 32 sets of Harpoon systems (the whole package included) due to high cost. It's very likely that Taiwan will buy the remaining 68 systems but it's not all set yet. As for anti-air missiles you forgot that taiwan has also got the Avenger and Chaparral along with its domestic Sky Bow-1, Sky Bow-2, Sky Bow-3, Antelope, and the upcoming land-based Sky Sword-2 missile.

 

[steel21]

To be honest there are also dissenting voices in Taiwan's military in whether taiwan should be buying such expensive hardware instead of investing into asymmetric capabilities. But in the end they still bought it after consideration, so i believe the taiwanese military do have a good reason in buying such hardware.

The major decider was not what to buy, but what US is willing to sell.

The general consensus around here is that the ROC military might not be as discerning as 5 dollar sexy worker on a Friday night, ......on a super bowl weekend, with a serious meth habit. (maybe that was too graphic)



Or you can check with OUSD(P) FMS guys and gals on how they checked the 8-ball on that one.

This is how ROC looks to the US:

 

[tupolevtu144]

The new numbers are the official cost. Taiwan is currently only buying 32 sets of Harpoon systems (the whole package included) due to high cost. It's very likely that Taiwan will buy the remaining 68 systems but it's not all set yet. As for anti-air missiles you forgot that taiwan has also got the Avenger and Chaparral along with its domestic Sky Bow-1, Sky Bow-2, Sky Bow-3, Antelope, and the upcoming land-based Sky Sword-2 missile.

Yes of course money is always the greatest problem. That is why it's very unwise of them to abolish conscription. Yet there's no turning back since any political party whether it be kmt or dpp knows that reinstating conscription is political suicide. However one wise decision that the current taiwanese military is doing is trying to be self-sufficient. Several years ago the US has even offered THAAD to taiwan but the taiwanese govt turned it off in favor of the domestic Sky Bow-3.

 

[tupolevtu144]

I think I probably didn't make the point too clear in the original post. My opinion is that money spent on glitzy stuff like new tanks and attack helos should be diverted entirely to asymmetric capabilities and tactics/training exercises should change accordingly. Let's not fool ourselves here, the only reason that money is being spent on expensive hardware is political. A tank as heavy as the Abrams is not suited to maneuvering in Taiwan (mountains/ravines/sandy beaches/rice paddies and fruit fields). But it does help politicians score popularity points with the locals.

True. From what i heard the abrams tanks will be used to defend the capital. Quite an unusual solution to the problem.

 

[MarkD]

taiwan is said (by domestic media) to have one of the densest air defenses in the world.

So is Syria. Israel have easy airstrikes over Syria using stand off missiles.

 

[tupolevtu144]

The greatest hindrance to the military in Taiwan is the loss of purpose. The goal of the ROC military is to retake the mainland, but the DPP has cut it off from its history and legacy. You can have world class military gear like the Saudis but if your army does not have a clear purpose or soul, you can still lose to inferiorly equipped opponents like the Houthis in Yemen. To make the matters worse, the PLA is neither inferiorly equipped nor does it lack a purpose.

True. The DPP even butchered the national anthem because of political reasons. The worst was when the DPP actually tried setting up Imperial Japan murals in a ROCAF air base to "commemorate the Imperial Japan air force that was stationed at the same location during ww2". Fortunately the KMT was able to stop them from doing so. But it didn't stop the DPP from naming an originally ROC military-owned building after an Imperial Japan governor that was once stationed in Taiwan...

Personally I am pro-KMT/CCP (id still pick KMT though lol) pro-China and I hate how the DPP regime has single-handedly destroyed all Chinese legacy in Taiwan and brainwashed the people into anti-China pro-Japan pro-US imperalism zombies. In fact they have been so successful at doing so you literally cannot find anyone at my age who doesn't hold the DPP worldview and hate China so much they in fact become racist to Chinese people (exactly like some HKers). Meanwhile they kow-tow to Japan and the US like they've got some kind of inferiority complex. It's a disheartening sight to behold.

 

[Gatekeeper]

i wont be that confident if i were u. ill argue based on facts not chest-thumping arrogance.

Gee. It's come to this. I'm being told by a fresh faced college kid that I'm a chest-thumping arrogant nationalist! Lol.

Dont they ever teach you Taiwan folks to respect your elders, particular the ones with some degree of wisdom which you fresh faced college kids wouldn't know what it is yet.

 

[steel21]

Gee. It's come to this. I'm being told by a fresh faced college kid that I'm a chest-thumping arrogant nationalist! Lol.

Dont they ever teach you Taiwan folks to respect your elders, particular the ones with some degree of wisdom which you fresh faced college kids wouldn't know what it is yet.

It's like being told by a fresh butter bar how wars and campaigns are fought, and won. All based on his extensive required reading list during ROTC.

Shit man, get your first good conduct medal first. (NOTE: its is awarded after your first 3 years)

 

[tupolevtu144]

Gee. It's come to this. I'm being told by a fresh faced college kid that I'm a chest-thumping arrogant nationalist! Lol.

Dont they ever teach you Taiwan folks to respect your elders, particular the ones with some degree of wisdom which you fresh faced college kids wouldn't know what it is yet.

well to be honest i have no idea how old you are. if i didnt tell you that im still in college then you wont know that im still in college either. so personally i see all discussion on the internet as equals-to-equals. If we are talking face-to-face and i know how old you are or who you are then it will of course be different.

I also hate how discussion on the internet cannot be as objective as possible. When you argue with someone you should bring up reasons to reinforce your arguement.

 

[Gatekeeper]

well to be honest i have no idea how old you are. if i didnt tell you that im still in college then you wont know that im still in college either. so personally i see all discussion on the internet as equals-to-equals. If we are talking face-to-face and i know how old you are or who you are then it will of course be different.

I also hate how discussion on the internet cannot be as objective as possible. When you argue with someone you should bring up reasons to reinforce your arguement.

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Gee now I'm being schooled on how to argue on the internet! I might as well hand back my degree in economics and my chartered (masters level) accountancy back to my learning institutions because a college pre-grad is more wise and knowledgeable than me. Lol