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Supersonic missile fails to hit
target
AFP, TAIPEI
Taiwan unveils a home-grown
supersonic Hsiung Feng III ship-to-ship missile in Taipei on Oct. 10, 2007,
during the first military parade in 16 years.
PHOTO: AFP
The Ministry of National Defense yesterday
confirmed reports that a new supersonic anti-ship missile had missed its target
during a routine naval drill, the latest in a series of setbacks.
Analysts said the Hsiung Feng III (ˇ§Brave Wind,ˇ¨ HF-3) missile, designed to
cruise at a maximum speed of Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound, and with a
range of up to 130km, is difficult to defend against.
However, the ministry said the weapon, the nationˇ¦s first locally developed
supersonic anti-ship missile, had failed to hit its objective during the drill
because of a computer glitch.
ˇ§The ministry will improve on the screening of hardcore facilities ˇK to ensure
the quality of the missiles,ˇ¨ it said in a statement.
The military started to deploy the HF-3 on its warships last year in response to
Chinaˇ¦s rapid naval expansion.
However, military leaders were left red-faced after two failed missile tests
earlier this year that earned rare criticism from President Ma Ying-jeou (°¨^¤E),
who urged the armed forces to practice more.
The Taipei-based China Times said the latest failure was particularly
embarrassing for the Republic of China Navy, as it ˇ§coincidedˇ¨ with Beijingˇ¦s
much-publicized military drills in the South China Sea earlier this month.
The missiles are estimated to cost Taiwanese taxpayers at least NT$100 million
(US$3.45 million) each, the report said.
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