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Missile units to be
merged into one on Thursday: MND
By Rich Chang / Staff Reporter
All medium and long-range air defense missile units of the air force will be
merged into a single unit under General Staff Headquarters, the Ministry of
National Defense (MND) said yesterday.
With Missile Command and its air defense units coming under the direct control
of the ministry, reaction time will be quicker as the chain of command is
shortened, which meets the requirements for air defense security, the ministry
said.
Missile defense units, including the Patriot, Tien Kung and Hawk batteries, will
be placed under Missile Command as of Thursday, the ministry said.
The Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times¡¦ sister newspaper) reported
that Lieutenant General Liao Jung-hsing (¹ùºaøÊ) would become the head of Missile
Command.
This will be the first major change to the nation¡¦s air defense operations
command structure since 2006, when various missile battalions were shifted to
the air force¡¦s air-defense artillery general headquarters, which is now the
air-defense artillery command.
Following Thursday¡¦s move, Oerlikon anti-aircraft artillery systems and the
vehicle-mounted Tien Chien 1 missiles will form the backbone of the air force¡¦s
short-range air-defense capabilities.
The newspaper quoted an anonymous official as saying that the security situation
in the Taiwan Strait had been dynamic in recent years.
Although the number of Chinese missiles targeting Taiwan ¡X more than 1,000 ¡X has
not increased as dramatically as before, their accuracy and capabilities have
increased, the official said.
While the cross-strait situation seems stable at present, the military threat
from China has become more serious, the official said.
The military¡¦s missile and anti-missile capabilities have improved in recent
years, the official said.
In addition to procurement of Patriot-3 missiles from the US and deployment of
the Tien Kung III missile, the Hsiung Feng IIE surface-to-surface cruise
missile, which can hit targets in certain parts of China, has also been
deployed.
The report said that one of the priorities for Taiwan¡¦s military was to procure
600km to 800km-range cruise missiles like the Hsiung Feng IIE, which is similar
to the US-made Tomahawk cruise missile.
The military plans to produce 245 Hsiung Feng IIEs, the report said.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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