ANALYSIS/Latest U.S. arms sales expected to boost Taiwan's air defense

Taipei, Oct. 26 (CNA) The radar turnkey and missile systems that will be supplied by the United States as part of its latest announced arms sales to Taiwan will likely strengthen the latter's capabilities to defend its capital city by detecting threats posed by stealth fighters and drones, military experts said Saturday.

The sale of the AN/TPS-77 and AN/TPS-78 radar turnkey systems at a cost of US$828 million and the National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System at US$1.16 billion was announced Friday by the U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency.

The AN/TPS-77 radar system, which has a range of 470 kilometers, is used for long range air surveillance and is especially good at detecting small flying objects, according to Shu Hsiao-huang (舒孝煌), an associate research fellow at the Taipei-based Institute for National Defense and Security Research.

The AN/TPS-78 radar systems, meanwhile, has an instrumental range of 444 km and can better identify low-altitude cruise missiles and drones, Su told CNA, adding that the two radar systems can function automatedly.

Chou Yu-ping (周宇平), a retired Air Force officer, told CNA in an interview that the three surface-to-air missile systems will be deployed in Taipei to guard the capital against cruise missiles and fighter jets.

The surface-to-air missile systems are equipped with AN/MPQ-64F1 Sentinel radar systems, and it will be crucial that the intelligence the new radars gather can be used across the Air Force's integrated network of radar and missiles systems, Chou said.

Meanwhile, Shu said the missile systems in the newly disclosed sales are expected to replace the HAWK surface-to-air missile system, which covers medium-range and low- to medium-altitude in Taiwan's air defense.

The Sentinel radar systems can identify targets within a range of 120 kilometers, and the shooting range of the 123 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles is 50 km, Shu told CNA.

The new missile systems can be used to launch several types of missiles, such as the AIM-120 and AIM-9X models that are made by same manufacturer, as well as the IRIS-T medium range infrared homing missiles, according to Shu.

If the new missile systems can also be deployed for Taiwan's indigenous Tien Chien I and Tien Chien II missiles, that will further improve the country's independence in its national defense, he said.

Commenting on a reported plan to retire the Air Force's 35- and 20-millimeter anti-aircraft twin cannons, Shu said they should remain in service, as it is not cost-effective to use missiles to shoot down unmanned flying objects.