Taiwan Navy opens missile base in eastern Taiwan

[Lankan Ranger]

Taiwan Navy opens missile base in eastern Taiwan

The nation's navy opened yesterday a military base with Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles in eastern Taiwan to the media for the first time.

Officers and their men gave a demonstration of operations concerning installing and hanging the missiles onto the right positions for launching as well as removing them from missile racks afterward.

The naval missile base, called “Guhai” (“fortifying the sea” in Chinese) military base, is nestled in a mountain region in eastern Hualien.

With a camouflage that disguises the military base as an area for ordinary building compounds, the roof tiles of the structures have the special effects of deflecting satellite searches by unfriendly forces or parties.

There are housing units for residents and commercial hotels for tourists near the base.

The structures housing the missiles and troops can be easily mistaken for villas at a tourist resort.

Some of the missile facilities are concealed and some others are mounted on heavy-duty trucks for high mobility.

Troops handling Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles have regularly taken part in large-scale military exercises, including live fire tests in war games.

But this is the first time the navy has let reporters make an onsite tour of the military facilities.

The Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missiles measure 4.8 meters in length and can hit targets more than 100 kilometers away.

Navy opens missile base in eastern Taiwan to media - The China Post

 

[Lankan Ranger]

 

[below_freezing]

since it is aimed towards the easy we may be sure that it is directed towards japan and USA.

 

[cloneman]

since it is aimed towards the easy we may be sure that it is directed towards japan and USA.

No.Its the ROCs strategy to reserve their force under the possible PLA strike.The east part of Taiwan is full of mountains while west quit smooth.The primary task for the ROC military force is to keep as much strenth as possible under the PLA strike to wait for the rescue from the Japanese and the yanks.Their aim is to resist for at least two weeks under the PLA attack.

 

[no_name]

ROC tries to either stop the PLA at the beaches or just inflict damage and withdraw into the mountains. The AShM are placed on the east end because then the PLAAF have to fly over Taiwan. Dung in bases makes it harder to be taken out via missile strikes alone.

There are also dug in air bases in eastern Taiwan, and Taiwan highways are designed to be able to support fighter jet landing.

 

[below_freezing]

ROC tries to either stop the PLA at the beaches or just inflict damage and withdraw into the mountains. The AShM are placed on the east end because then the PLAAF have to fly over Taiwan. Dung in bases makes it harder to be taken out via missile strikes alone.

There are also dug in air bases in eastern Taiwan, and Taiwan highways are designed to be able to support fighter jet landing.

wouldn't even ballistic missile bases in eastern taiwan need to be able to fire over the mountains, thus needing communications to the western side for targetting and still being vulnerable to being disabled in a war? also, anti-ship missiles have a range of about *10^2 km and fly on a level trajectory, they are only useful if placed on the same side as the attacker since they aren't ballistic missiles that can fly over mountains, and the PLA isn't going to land on the eastern side.

 

[gambit]

wouldn't even ballistic missile bases in eastern taiwan need to be able to fire over the mountains, thus needing communications to the western side for targetting and still being vulnerable to being disabled in a war? also, anti-ship missiles have a range of about *10^2 km and fly on a level trajectory, they are only useful if placed on the same side as the attacker since they aren't ballistic missiles that can fly over mountains, and the PLA isn't going to land on the eastern side.

Whenever there is a 'base' of some sort, that does not mean troops or aircrafts or ships or missile batteries are confined to that 'base'. A 'base' serves as a central location from which command and control orders are issued, plans are executed, logistics delivered, etc...etc...That mean these anti-ships missiles are mobile and can be deployed wherever they are needed. PLAN ships will be highly vulnerable when they are in transit, even as short a distance between China and Taiwan, and given this short distance, there is no need for any missile to go Mach. Further...As the HF-2 has a reported range of 1000km, if it is determined that Taiwan can hold the PLAN ships at bay at 500km, the missile can have its fuel load reduced and explosive yield increased, or improved guidance, or both, for better lethality. Against a ship, it is not necessary to sink it but to severely disable its mission capability, whatever it might be. For an aircraft carrier, its runway deck is its most valuable asset. For a troop transport, disabling its propulsion will suffice. Taking Taiwan by force will not be as easy as you boys would like to delude yourselves.

 

[below_freezing]

Whenever there is a 'base' of some sort, that does not mean troops or aircrafts or ships or missile batteries are confined to that 'base'. A 'base' serves as a central location from which command and control orders are issued, plans are executed, logistics delivered, etc...etc...That mean these anti-ships missiles are mobile and can be deployed wherever they are needed. PLAN ships will be highly vulnerable when they are in transit, even as short a distance between China and Taiwan, and given this short distance, there is no need for any missile to go Mach. Further...As the HF-2 has a reported range of 1000km, if it is determined that Taiwan can hold the PLAN ships at bay at 500km, the missile can have its fuel load reduced and explosive yield increased, or improved guidance, or both, for better lethality. Against a ship, it is not necessary to sink it but to severely disable its mission capability, whatever it might be. For an aircraft carrier, its runway deck is its most valuable asset. For a troop transport, disabling its propulsion will suffice. Taking Taiwan by force will not be as easy as you boys would like to delude yourselves.

do you know any anti-ship missile with a 1000 km range? not ONE anti-ship missile whose existence is not in doubt has a range even HALF of that. the article itself said the missile range was 100 km. did you not argue that the DF-21 was impossible precisely because of sensor issues with a 1000 km missile? also, the useful mobility of the missiles are called into question: after all a truck drives at 100 km/hr on average, and to even get in a position to shoot a non-ballistic missile with the starting point on eastern side takes hours.

 

[gambit]

do you know any anti-ship missile with a 1000 km range? not ONE anti-ship missile whose existence is not in doubt has a range even HALF of that. the article itself said the missile range was 100 km.

Hsiung-Feng II

Hsiung Feng II-E (Brave Wind)

In 2001 it was reported that a land attack cruise missile, designated Hsiung Feng 2E, based on the HF-2, has a range of 1,000km. Though only in its development stages, the HF-2E will be a major advance for Tai-wan. For the first time, Taiwan will be able to attack targets as far away as Shanghai.

A cruise missile is an aircraft. Land or sea, a target's vulnerability is only as good at the missile's targeting system. Keep in mind that the US Tomahawk has an anti-ship variant as well as a nuclear equipped land target variant.

did you not argue that the DF-21 was impossible precisely because of sensor issues with a 1000 km missile?

Sensor issues are not the same as distance.

also, the useful mobility of the missiles are called into question: after all a truck drives at 100 km/hr on average, and to even get in a position to shoot a non-ballistic missile with the starting point on eastern side takes hours.

Right...So you are saying that these mobile units will be deployed only when shots have already been fired by the enemy? Get real. They will be deployed weeks or even months ahead of a potential conflict. They will change positions daily or even hourly.

 

[below_freezing]

Hsiung-Feng II

A cruise missile is an aircraft. Land or sea, a target's vulnerability is only as good at the missile's targeting system. Keep in mind that the US Tomahawk has an anti-ship variant as well as a nuclear equipped land target variant.


Sensor issues are not the same as distance.


Right...So you are saying that these mobile units will be deployed only when shots have already been fired by the enemy? Get real. They will be deployed weeks or even months ahead of a potential conflict. They will change positions daily or even hourly.

land attack cruise missiles have preprogrammed targets while anti-ship missiles are facing 1.) moving targets 2.) targets with countermeasures. this creates vastly different sensor requirements. i'm not an expert but i'd guess that the tomahawk's anti-ship variant has a vastly lower range than the land attack variant.

in addition, on the eastern side it has numerous challenges to face: 1.) guidance system that lets it fly over the central mountains while maintaining a target lock; even if possible this necessarily means sensors are on the western side which is more vulnerable. 2.) the ability to even successfully launch. after all, the power of escalation is not in taiwan's hands but in mainland's, and if they launch first in a land-attack variant, the 5 star red flag would be flying on their presidential palace within days - after all, 1900 ballistic missiles and unknown cruise missiles have been targetted at all major command/control, SAM and airfields for years. Obviously, launching 2nd is a major disadvantage, if at all possible. Their air force has less experience, less aircraft and inferior aircraft to even our naval air force, not even mentioning real air force. The usefulness of these missiles against the mainland is a very big question.