According to reports, Taiwan is currently seeking to acquire Harpoon anti-ship missiles from the United States
to enhance its defensive capabilities against a possible Chinese incursion.
Bloomberg News report on April 18 cited U.S.-Taiwan Business Council President
Rupert Hammond-Chambers and people familiar with the matter revealing
that Taiwan will purchase as many as 400 land-launched Harpoon missiles,
completing an arms deal approved by the U.S. Congress in 2020.
The move is part of Taiwan's broader efforts to modernize its military and strengthen its
defenses amid increasing military tensions with China, which has long claimed Taiwan as
part of its territory and has not ruled out using force to bring it under its control.
In this video, Defense Updates analyzes why American Harpoon for Taiwan would be a big
headache for China ? Let’s get started.
Hammond-Chambers said that the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command
has signed a contract on behalf of Taiwan, and three others familiar with the matter,
including an industry official, also confirmed the contract is with Taiwan.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on April 7 that it signed a $1.7 billion
contract with Boeing, but it did not list Taiwan as the buyer.
Lieutenant Colonel Martin Meiners, a Pentagon spokesperson,
declined to confirm whether Taiwan was acquiring the missiles but said,
"We will continue to work with industry to provide Taiwan defense equipment in a timely manner."
As per Rupert Hammond-Chambers, president of the US-Taiwan Business Council, Taiwan has previously
purchased ship-launched versions of the Harpoon. The latest contract with Boeing issued on Taiwan’s
behalf by the US Naval Air Systems Command marks a first for the mobile, land-launched version.
The Harpoon is an all-weather, over-the-horizon, anti-ship
missile developed and manufactured by McDonnell Douglas (now Boeing Defense, Space & Security).
Harpoon Block II expands the capabilities of the original
Harpoon anti-ship weapon and will most likely be the one being sold to Taiwan.
The major system components of the Harpoon Block II missile include a booster,
launch support structure, and canisters, as well as a command and launch system.
The missile employs a GPS-aided inertial navigation system (INS)
to strike targets on land and ships. Harpoon Block II integrates the low-cost
inertial measuring unit from the Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) program.
It also uses a software package, mission computer, integrated GPS/INS, and GPS antenna
and receiver from the AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER).
The guidance control unit (GCU) of Harpoon Block
II integrates a selective availability anti-spoofing module (SAASM) GPS receiver.
The GCU can also be incorporated with a data link for network-centric operation.
The GPS/INS eliminates midcourse guidance issues on the way to the target area while performing
conventional anti-ship missions, including open-sea and near-land.
The accurate navigation combined with an improved launch system provides
better discrimination of target vessels from islands and nearby land zones or other ships.
The advanced features of Block II provide a high
hit probability against warships operating near shore or sailing on narrow sea routes.
The 227 kg or 500 lb penetration, high-explosive blast warhead
provides the missile with sufficient firepower to cripple a large warship.
A typical launcher transporter unit consists of 4 missiles each.
Presently Taiwan’s order seems to be in the backlog of orders for the
sea-launched version of the Harpoon and Taiwan is currently behind Saudi Arabia in the line.
In February, U.S. Representative Mike Gallagher who is the Republican chairman
of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party said,
“Taiwan should be moved to the front of the line for the Harpoons,” and that the idea of
Saudi Arabia receiving the weapons first “doesn’t make any strategic sense to me."
This was one of the topics of discussion at the hearing of
the House Armed Services Committee on April 18.
After the meeting, Mike Gallagher, said he would like to look for ways to get Harpoon
anti-ship missiles to Taiwan ahead of those scheduled to go to Saudi Arabia.
The United States is a key ally of Taiwan and has provided military support to the island in the
form of arms sales and other forms of assistance. However, China strongly opposes such actions,
seeing them as interference in its internal affairs and a threat to its national security.
The potential sale of Harpoon missiles is likely to further exacerbate tensions
between the United States and China, which are already strained over a range of issues,
including trade, human rights, and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.
Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson at China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a
press conference on Tuesday in response to the report: “China will take resolute
and powerful measures to firmly safeguard own sovereignty and security interests.”
China is separated from Taiwan through Taiwan Strait and China will have to move
its forces across the strait in case it decides to invade. The strait is 100 miles or 160 km wide.
A major amphibious operation will be required by
China and Taiwan is looking to exploit this situation.
Taiwan is thought to be rigging these waters with mines and with new stockpiles
of Harpoons along with several kinds of homegrown anti-ship missiles like Hsiung
Feng III, the circumstances will be pretty challenging for Chinese amphibious flotilla.
A large barrage of the Ani Ship missiles will be very hard to defend against.
It is uncertain how things will unfold or what the outcome will be but one aspect is clear,
a potential Taiwan invasion will be froth with danger for China.