The president ordered rapid mass production of the Tiangong III and Hsiung Feng III missiles on Friday
Taiwan News
Date: 2019/01/25
By: Duncan DeAeth, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
File photo: President Tsai inspects a missile at Su’ao Naval Base, April, 2018 (By Associated Press)
TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – On Friday, Jan. 25, President Tsai Ing-wen directed the Ministry of National Defense and National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) to accelerate plans for mass production of the Tiangong III and the supersonic Hsiung Feng III missiles to bolster Taiwan’s defensive capabilities.
An anonymous source within the Ministry of Defense was reported by Liberty Times, as saying that President Tsai confidentially ordered the rapid production at least 60 of the Hsiung Feng III missiles along with an unspecified number of the Tiangong III missiles, using funding allocated to special projects of the Ministry of Defense.
Following a closed door briefing with NCSIST personnel, President Tsai said that Taiwan must accelerate its production of the sophisticated defensive weaponry, in which she refered to the missiles as the “pride of Taiwan,” reports CNA.
According to the LTN report, the Ministry of Defense drafted initial plans for such mass production in 2013, and in the intervening years, various research and engineering projects have been conducted to maximize range and effectiveness of the domestically designed missile types. [FULL STORY]
