US State Department approves sale of long range land attack missiles and mobile rocket systems to Taiwan

[F-22Raptor]

The State Department approved $1.8 billion in new arms for Taiwan and submitted the package to Congress Wednesday for a final review in a move aimed at improving the island’s self-defense capabilities against a long-threatened invasion by China.

The package includes 135 SLAM-extended-range land attack missiles from Boeing Co. valued at $1 billion if the entire sale goes through, $436 million for Himars mobile artillery rocket systems made by Lockheed Martin Corp. and $367 million in surveillance and reconnaissance sensors from Raytheon Technologies Corp. to be mounted on aircraft.

The submission to Congress for a 30-day review, which is unlikely to draw opposition, comes two months after the U.S. and Taiwan completed the sale of 66 new model F-16 Block 70 aircraft from Lockheed.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian condemned the arms sale on Thursday, saying it violates the one-China principle, interferes in China’s internal affairs and will have a “major impact” on U.S.-China relations.


Tensions between Taiwan and China are rising following Beijing’s increasingly tough approach toward Hong Kong. China’s Communist Party -- which claims democratically-run Taiwan as part of its territory -- has steadily increased its diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan. In recent weeks, the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA, has stepped up incursions into the air-defense-identification zone around the island.

The land-attack missiles in particular “will improve the recipient’s capability to meet current and future threats as it provides all-weather, day and night, precision attack capabilities against both moving and stationary targets,” according to the State Department.

The U.S. has sought to push back on the Chinese pressure. Two senior U.S. officials, including Undersecretary of State Keith Krach, have visited Taiwan since August in a show of support.

“The U.S. government has long shrunk from selling Taiwan weapons that could strike PRC territory from Taiwan proper,” said Ian Easton, senior director at the Arlington-based Project 2049 Institute. “These new missiles will hold major PLA amphibious assault bases at risk and significantly complicate their offensive plans.”

A Taiwanese Cabinet statement said separately Thursday that deepening economic cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan -- and jointly promoting supply chain restructuring -- are among the Taipei government’s most important tasks.


Secretary of State Michael Pompeo said in an Oct. 9 interview on the Hugh Hewitt show that the “administration has been relentless in the work that we have done to make sure that the understandings that we’ve had between ourselves and China as they relate to Taiwan are delivered upon.”

“We are going to make sure that we live up toall of the obligations we have to Taiwan,” Pompeo added.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...pproves-1-7-billion-in-new-weapons-for-taiwan

 

[My-Analogous]

China also should do with Cuba and give same package

 

[S10]

China also should do with Cuba and give same package

Nah there's going to be a big arms sale package to Iran.

 

[F-22Raptor]

The HIMARS purchase comes with 64 ATACMS missiles for Taiwan.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Wonder how they're going to use this.

If they attack first it's suicidal.

But they won't get a chance to attack at all in a disabling first strike. This weapon cannot stop a disabling first strike.

 

[925boy]

China also should do with Cuba and give same package

and something tells me that sooner or later, US wont be able to physically deliver these arms to Taiwan...that day is near...

 

[Pakistan Space Agency]

This is a very provocative move by the US.

Either the US believes China will only protest to this deal and do nothing or the US is trying to force China to open up another active military front on it's own border.

Either way, the US can sit back and watch China fight on Chinese territory. But if China does invade Taiwan and easily succeeds, that's game over for the US in that area.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Wonder how they're going to use this.

If they attack first it's suicidal.

But they won't get a chance to attack at all in a disabling first strike. This weapon cannot stop a disabling first strike.

This kind of tit-for-tat posturing has continued just in the past 24 hours with the announcement late yesterday that the U.S. government had approved a trio of potential arms sales to Taiwan. The three packages center on possible deliveries of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems(HIMARS), AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles, and MS-110 podded reconnaissance systems for combat jets such as Taiwan's F-16 Viper fighters. The deals, which Taiwan will still have to formally agree to and could be subject to change as part of subsequent negotiations, are valued at more than $1.8 billion, combined, and include a variety of ancillary equipment and services.

The AGM-84Hs, a derivative of the Harpoon anti-ship missile, would offer Taiwan important additional capacity to engage threats across the Strait and elsewhere around the island in a crisis, while giving the launching aircraft the ability to stay further away from the PLA's integrated air defenses. The weapon, which despite its name can engage targets on land or at sea, is also highly-accurate and resistant to electronic warfare jamming due to the use of an imaging infrared seeker to find its target in the terminal phase of flight.

The MS-110s, which contain an advanced, long-range camera, will give Taiwanese combat jets important new reconnaissance capabilities, including potentially the ability to peer into the mainland to some degree from a standoff position using a slanted flight pattern. The multi-spectral camera system in the MS-110 can collect visual and infrared imagery, as well as fuse them together for greater fidelity. In addition, this means the camera can grab images at night, as well as during the day, and detect objects of interest that might be obscured by smoke and dust, as well as some man-made camouflage.

However, the HIMARS package may be the most significant of the three. The system is capable of firing various munitions from the common M142 launcher mounted on a 6x6 tactical truck, but the only ones that this proposed deal includes are 64 Army Tactical Missile System (ATAMCS) quasi-ballistic missiles with unitary high-explosive warheads. These missiles have a range of approximately 190 miles and would be easily able to reach coastal areas across the Strait, even from the center of the island. These weapons could be extremely valuable for engaging PLA artillery and ground-based missile systems, command and control nodes, supply dumps, as well as areas where invasion forces might be marshaling.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ne-of-its-rc-135w-spy-planes-flew-over-taiwan
It’s also important to note that with the sale of HIMARs to Taiwan, the US has the ability to sell Extended Range GMLRs rockets and Precision Strike Missiles to Taiwan in the future.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

This kind of tit-for-tat posturing has continued just in the past 24 hours with the announcement late yesterday that the U.S. government had approved a trio of potential arms sales to Taiwan. The three packages center on possible deliveries of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems(HIMARS), AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles, and MS-110 podded reconnaissance systems for combat jets such as Taiwan's F-16 Viper fighters. The deals, which Taiwan will still have to formally agree to and could be subject to change as part of subsequent negotiations, are valued at more than $1.8 billion, combined, and include a variety of ancillary equipment and services.

The AGM-84Hs, a derivative of the Harpoon anti-ship missile, would offer Taiwan important additional capacity to engage threats across the Strait and elsewhere around the island in a crisis, while giving the launching aircraft the ability to stay further away from the PLA's integrated air defenses. The weapon, which despite its name can engage targets on land or at sea, is also highly-accurate and resistant to electronic warfare jamming due to the use of an imaging infrared seeker to find its target in the terminal phase of flight.

The MS-110s, which contain an advanced, long-range camera, will give Taiwanese combat jets important new reconnaissance capabilities, including potentially the ability to peer into the mainland to some degree from a standoff position using a slanted flight pattern. The multi-spectral camera system in the MS-110 can collect visual and infrared imagery, as well as fuse them together for greater fidelity. In addition, this means the camera can grab images at night, as well as during the day, and detect objects of interest that might be obscured by smoke and dust, as well as some man-made camouflage.

However, the HIMARS package may be the most significant of the three. The system is capable of firing various munitions from the common M142 launcher mounted on a 6x6 tactical truck, but the only ones that this proposed deal includes are 64 Army Tactical Missile System (ATAMCS) quasi-ballistic missiles with unitary high-explosive warheads. These missiles have a range of approximately 190 miles and would be easily able to reach coastal areas across the Strait, even from the center of the island. These weapons could be extremely valuable for engaging PLA artillery and ground-based missile systems, command and control nodes, supply dumps, as well as areas where invasion forces might be marshaling.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ne-of-its-rc-135w-spy-planes-flew-over-taiwan
It’s also important to note that with the sale of HIMARs to Taiwan, the US has the ability to sell Extended Range GMLRs rockets and Precision Strike Missiles to Taiwan in the future.

Lots of words to say very little. They won't survive air supremacy and can be easily shot down by anti ballistic missile SAMs.

 

[SuperStar20]

This ends the October months suprise thread on PDF.

 

[F-22Raptor]

Lots of words to say very little. They won't survive air supremacy and can be easily shot down by anti ballistic missile SAMs.

Taiwan is absolutely capable of striking Chinese coastal targets and massing fires into the Strait. These missiles just enhance that capability.

 

[FairAndUnbiased]

Taiwan is absolutely capable of striking Chinese coastal targets and massing fires into the Strait. These missiles just enhance that capability.

Sure they are with their fleet of mostly F-16A and F-5s vs. 40 AEGIS style air defense destroyers for naval air defense alone, never mind S-400s, HQ-9s, J-10 and J-16 with AESA radar, 7x more AWAC planes...

 

[mike2000 is back]

This kind of tit-for-tat posturing has continued just in the past 24 hours with the announcement late yesterday that the U.S. government had approved a trio of potential arms sales to Taiwan. The three packages center on possible deliveries of High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems(HIMARS), AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) missiles, and MS-110 podded reconnaissance systems for combat jets such as Taiwan's F-16 Viper fighters. The deals, which Taiwan will still have to formally agree to and could be subject to change as part of subsequent negotiations, are valued at more than $1.8 billion, combined, and include a variety of ancillary equipment and services.

The AGM-84Hs, a derivative of the Harpoon anti-ship missile, would offer Taiwan important additional capacity to engage threats across the Strait and elsewhere around the island in a crisis, while giving the launching aircraft the ability to stay further away from the PLA's integrated air defenses. The weapon, which despite its name can engage targets on land or at sea, is also highly-accurate and resistant to electronic warfare jamming due to the use of an imaging infrared seeker to find its target in the terminal phase of flight.

The MS-110s, which contain an advanced, long-range camera, will give Taiwanese combat jets important new reconnaissance capabilities, including potentially the ability to peer into the mainland to some degree from a standoff position using a slanted flight pattern. The multi-spectral camera system in the MS-110 can collect visual and infrared imagery, as well as fuse them together for greater fidelity. In addition, this means the camera can grab images at night, as well as during the day, and detect objects of interest that might be obscured by smoke and dust, as well as some man-made camouflage.

However, the HIMARS package may be the most significant of the three. The system is capable of firing various munitions from the common M142 launcher mounted on a 6x6 tactical truck, but the only ones that this proposed deal includes are 64 Army Tactical Missile System (ATAMCS) quasi-ballistic missiles with unitary high-explosive warheads. These missiles have a range of approximately 190 miles and would be easily able to reach coastal areas across the Strait, even from the center of the island. These weapons could be extremely valuable for engaging PLA artillery and ground-based missile systems, command and control nodes, supply dumps, as well as areas where invasion forces might be marshaling.

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zo...ne-of-its-rc-135w-spy-planes-flew-over-taiwan
It’s also important to note that with the sale of HIMARs to Taiwan, the US has the ability to sell Extended Range GMLRs rockets and Precision Strike Missiles to Taiwan in the future.

There will be no war with Taiwan. China will make some noise like they always do, and things will go back to normal. I believe in the long run it will be a peaceful unification. However, for that to happen there will need to be political change on the mainland , it will take decades/time but it will happen at one point. So this news is nothing new, the US has been providing weapons to Taiwan for a long time and nothing has ever happen. CCP know they have other priorities on their hands than starting a devastating war which they don't know how or when it might end.
However, the US should be careful about the type of sophisticated weapons they sell Taiwan, since China is known to have alot of spies in Taiwan. So US should never sell their latest weapons tech to them.

 

[casual]

The HIMARS purchase comes with 64 ATACMS missiles for Taiwan.

It's outranged by all Chinese missile and rocket artillery systems deployed against Taiwan. 300km range also isn't enough to reach any airports. This is just a sell to make US defense manufactures happy and will have no tactical use in war.

 

[Viva_Viet]

There will be no war with Taiwan. China will make some noise like they always do, and things will go back to normal. I believe in the long run it will be a peaceful unification. However, for that to happen there will need to be political change on the mainland , it will take decades/time but it will happen at one point. So this news is nothing new, the US has been providing weapons to Taiwan for a long time and nothing has ever happen. CCP know they have other priorities on their hands than starting a devastating war which they don't know how or when it might end.
However, the US should be careful about the type of sophisticated weapons they sell Taiwan, since China is known to have alot of spies in Taiwan. So US should never sell their latest weapons tech to them.

Yes, TW will unify CN mainland, like West Germany took control of East Germany after Soviet collapse.

CN economy is falling like Soviet now, there r 900 million Cnese living in poverty "thanks to" trade war