The war in Ukraine could delay US weapons delivery
Taiwan is wary of yet another delay in delivery of US weapons, including shoulder-launched missiles, as Ukraine seeks more arms from the West to repel Russia’s invasion.
The island’s military admitted yesterday that it might not be able to take delivery this year of Stinger missiles on order from the United States.
“There may be a risk of delayed delivery of the portable Stinger missiles this year due to changes in the international situation,” Chu Wen-wu, deputy head of the military’s army planning department, said yesterday.
He said the army would do all it could to ensure the weapons were delivered on time according to the terms of the contract.
Taiwan has ordered 250 of Raytheon Technologies’ Stinger air defence systems at a cost of NT$7.26 billion (HK$1.9 billion) to be delivered between this year and 2026, a deal approved by former US president Donald Trump in 2019.
The missiles have been in great demand in Ukraine, where they have helped to keep Russian aircraft at bay, but US supplies have shrunk and there are hurdles to making more.
Raytheon said it had wound down production in recent years as the Pentagon had looked to more modern systems, and it might not be able to ramp up output until next year.
“We are actively trying to source some of the material, but unfortunately [the Department of Defence] hasn’t bought a Stinger in 18 years,” chief executive Greg Hayes was quoted by website Defence News as saying.
“As far as the Stingers, we should keep in mind we are currently producing Stingers for an international customer, but we have a very limited stock of material for Stinger production.”
The short-range, heat-seeking, surface-to-air missile entered service in 1981 and has been used by the United States and 29 other countries.
According to news reports, the US has so far shipped more than 1,400 Stingers to Ukraine.
In early April, the US Army said it wanted to begin developing a replacement for the missile and would start testing at least one prototype design by the end of the 2023 financial year.
Deliveries of other US weapons to Taiwan could also be affected.
The island’s defence ministry has been notified that next year’s expected delivery of M109A6 Paladin medium self-propelled howitzer artillery systems would be delayed until 2026 due to extra demand.
In August last year, the White House approved the sale of 40 of the howitzers and related equipment at an estimated cost of US$750 million to Taiwan.
The US State Department said at that time the approval was meant to support the island’s continuing efforts to modernise its armed forces and maintain a credible defensive capability in the face of growing military threats from Beijing – which views Taiwan as its territory subject to its control by force if necessary.
The howitzers can fire eight projectiles a minute at a range of 30km.
Taiwan’s defence ministry later said the United States had offered some long-range precision strike weapon systems such as the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems as alternatives for the delayed deal.
Yesterday, Chu of the Taiwanese military’s army planning department said the army was weighing its options.
“Regarding the alternatives, the defence ministry and the army are making an overall assessment,” he said, adding that as long as the weapons were able to reinforce the combat power of the military, they would be listed as the options for their consideration.
Ministry spokesman Sun Li-fang said delivery plans for other US weapons, including M1A2T Abrams tanks and advanced F16V fighter jets, were unchanged. “The progress of the tank delivery is normal,” he said, adding the air force had been in close contact with the US to make sure the fighter jets arrived in Taiwan on schedule.
Under the plans, the US was to deliver 108 Abrams tanks to Taiwan by 2027 and 66 F-16Vs by 2026.