The U.S. has approved a potential Patriot missile support package to Taiwan. The deal is valued at US$100 million. It includes engineering services designed to upgrade Taiwan’s Patriot air defense system, which was purchased from the U.S. According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the deal will come into effect within a month.
Taiwan’s U.S.-made Patriot missile defense system is set to get an upgrade. The U.S. state department has approved a US$100 million sale of missile equipment and services to Taiwan. The package includes five years of engineering services and field surveillance support designed to improve Taiwan’s air defense.
Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
This arms deal is U.S. President Joe Biden’s second sale to Taiwan since he took office. There are 15 countries in the world that use Patriot missiles, and they will be integrated by the U.S. for the sharing of technical intelligence. This could reduce overall costs. In effect, this initiative would turn Taiwan and these countries into an alliance for missile defense intelligence sharing.
The defense analyst says that the dollar amount of the arms deal is not large. But he says that the fact of the sale reflects strong mutual trust between Taiwan’s and the U.S.’ militaries. On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Presidential Office issued a press release thanking the U.S. for fulfilling its security commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act and the Six Assurances. According to Taiwan’s defense ministry, the U.S. Congress has been notified of the deal, which is expected to come into effect in a month.
Wang Ting-yu
DPP lawmaker
This arms deal isn’t a big one, but it is of great symbolic significance. It signals that the U.S. attaches great importance to Taiwan, which, in the face of the Chinese threat, must improve its self-defense capabilities.
The Patriot III missile system is a key element of Taiwan’s air defense. Its main purpose is to intercept other missiles, although it can also function as an anti-aircraft weapon. Its radar has a range reaching 100 kilometers. It can track 100 potential targets at once, guiding up to eight missiles at a time to three to five targets.
Su Tzu-yun
Institute for National Defense and Security Research
Taiwan has an upgraded version of Patriot II, as well as 384 PAC-3 missiles. There are also the extended-range Patriot missiles that will be purchased in the future. The Patriot''s radar and missile guidance system use gallium nitride semiconductors, which allow it to more effectively distinguish real targets from fake.
Taiwan’s first order of PAC-3s from the U.S. was fulfilled in 2017, leaving a sizeable surplus in its spending budget. The Ministry of National Defense plans to use the surplus on Patriot Guidance Enhanced Missiles, which will increase the system’s interception range to 600 kilometers. The enhanced missiles will also be more effective on low-altitude cruise missiles and low radar cross-section targets.
