Taiwanese navy anti-submarine drill before lunar new year, outside of Kaohsiung coast line, southern Taiwan, Jan 22nd, 2013
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Taiwanese navy anti-submarine drill before lunar new year, outside of Kaohsiung coast line, southern Taiwan, Jan 22nd, 2013
Taiwan Air Force soldiers carry an AIM-9M Sidewinder missile during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
Taiwan Air Force's F-16 fighter jets are readied before take-off during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
A Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jet taxies into position during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
Taiwan Air Force's F-16 fighter jets take off during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jets flies during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan,January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
A Taiwan Air Force F-16 fighter jet taxies with a drag chute after landing during a demonstration at Hualien airbase, eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
Soldiers operate M60A3 tanks during a military exercise at the Hualien army base in eastern Taiwan January 23, 2013. *******/Pichi Chuang.
http://bit.ly/1629wVxTaïwan s'est à nouveau engagé dans une nouvelle requête en arbitrage, qui concerne la vente en 1992 de 60 Mirage 2000-5. L'île réclame 226 millions d'euros à Dassault Aviation, Thales et Safran.
Taïwan, île maudite pour Paris et les industriels de l'armement français. Après l'affaire des frégates, qui s'est finalement soldée en 2011 par le paiement de 630 millions d'euros par la France (170 millions pour Thales et 460 millions pour l'Etat), Taïwan demande des comptes cette fois-ci pour la vente des 60 Mirage 2000-5, dont le contrat avait été signé en novembre 1992 par l'avionneur Dassault Aviation, l'électronicien Thomson CSF (devenu depuis Thales) et le motoriste Snecma (devenu depuis Safran). C'est en novembre 2012 que Taipei est discrètement revenu à la charge en réclamant 226 millions d'euros aux trois groupes concernés. Sur cette somme, Dassault Aviation pourrait en payer environ 70 %, Thales 20 % et Safran 10 % au prorata de la participation de chacun des groupes concernés dans le contrat signé avec Taïwan.
En novembre 1992, les entreprises françaises emmenées par Dassault Aviation décrochent un nouveau jackpot sur l'île nationaliste après celui des frégates. L'avionneur vend 60 avions de combat Mirage 2000-5 et leur armement, un contrat évalué à 4,6 milliards d'euros. Or, comme pour les frégates, ce contrat aurait fait l'objet de commissions commerciales. Les groupes concernés seraient donc rattrapés à nouveau par la clause signée par les contractants interdisant toute commission lors de la signature du contrat portant sur les 60 Mirage 2000-5 qui équipent les forces aériennes de Taiwan.
Un accord avait été pourtant trouvé en 2003
Pourquoi Taïwan s'est à nouveau engagé dans une nouvelle requête en arbitrage sur des fondements similaires à ceux de 2002 pour un montant révisé de 226 millions d'euros. Car l'île nationaliste n'en est pas à sa première demande. Et un accord entre Taïwan et les trois groupes avait été trouvé en juin 2003 à la suite d'une première demande d'arbitrage fin 2002. Dans le cadre d'un accord signé entre les parties en juin 2003, Taïwan s'était alors désisté de l'instance en contrepartie les trois groupes avaient renoncé à faire prévaloir des délais de prescription. L'île nationaliste réclamait à l'époque une somme supérieure ou égale à 260 millions de dollars. Aujourd'hui, Dassault Aviation, Thales et Safran contestent fermement cette demande et, à ce jour, il ne leur est pas possible d'évaluer le risque financier éventuel. Du coup, ils n'ont pas provisionné. Contactés par La Tribune, les trois groupes n'ont pas souhaité faire de commentaires.
Taiwanese marines test landing exercise in "Han Guan No.29" military drill in Pingdon coast line, southern Taiwan, Apr 18th, 2013.
http://www.defensenews.com/article/2013 ... ket-SystemTaiwan Deploys New Powerful Rocket System
Jun. 5, 2013 - 08:32AM
TAIPEI — Taiwan has deployed a powerful multiple-launch rocket system on an offshore island to guard against any amphibious landing by China, local media reported Wednesday.
The weapon, called Ray Ting 2000 or “Thunder 2000,” went into service for the first time on Matsu island and could reach China’s Fujian province across the Taiwan Strait, the United Evening News cited sources as saying.
The defense ministry declined to comment.
The system can launch 40 rockets in a minute with a range of 45 kilometers (28 miles), the report said.
“Thunder 2000” is expected to enhance the military’s anti-landing capabilities as it phases out the current rocket system introduced three decades ago, military experts have said.
They said the longer range could destroy landing craft before they reach the shore, while the truck-mounted launchers could be combat-ready in eight minutes, less than half the time of the current system.
The ministry reportedly plans to produce more than 50 such systems at a cost of Tw$14.5 billion (US $483 million).
China and Taiwan split in 1949 after a civil war, with the defeated Nationalists retreating to the island.
Ties have improved markedly since 2008, when a Beijing-friendly government came to power in Taipei.
But China still considers Taiwan part of its territory awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.
http://www.taiwannews.com.tw/etn/news_c ... id=2338060La Fayette frigates' missile upgrade set for 2017
The surface-to-air missiles on the Navy's fleet of La Fayette Class frigates will be replaced with a more advanced system starting in 2017, a senior Naval officer said Monday. The U.S.-made RIM-72C Sea Chaparral missiles will be replaced with Taiwan's own Sky Sword IIs, Navy Chief of Staff Kao Tien-chung said when answering questions at the Legislative Yuan's Foreign and National Defense Committee.
The ship-based Sky Sword II, or Tien Chien II, is a variant of the radar guided air-to-air missile developed by the Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) under the Ministry of National Defense. It has a range of about 100 kilometers, compared with the Sea Chaparral's 10 km.
The U.S.-made missiles were first deployed by the Navy in the early 1970s. Taiwan took delivery of its first 3,200-ton La Fayette frigate from France in 1996. All six frigates are equipped with French-made surveillance and combat systems, although the weapon systems are all made in the United States or Taiwan.
http://bit.ly/HvgBGNTaïwan vient de recevoir ses premiers hélicoptères Boeing AH-64E «Apache», les six appareils sont arrivés hier dans le port de Kaohsiung, par voie maritime. L’ìle de Taïwan a commandé un total de 30 AH-64E «Apache» en 2008 pour un montant de 2,01 milliards de dollars US.
Taïwan deviendra en avril prochain, le premier pays en dehors des États-Unis à déployer ce type d'hélicoptère. L'armée américaine a pris livraison de son premier AH- 64E à la fin de l’année 2011.
L’ AH-64E «Apache» offre plusieurs améliorations, y compris une plus grande puissance en ce qui concerne la motorisation. Il est doté de nouvelles pales en composites. Il dispose d’une avionique et d’un système d’arme amélioré. L’appareil dispose d’une meilleure interopérabilité avec les systèmes aériens sans pilote (Drones) et ceci grâce à une mise en réseau du système (Net Centric Warfare). L’AH-64E comprend une nouvelle architecture de communication de type JTRS (Joint Tactical Radio System), de nouvelles commandes électriques, le nouveau radar de contrôle de tir AN/APG-78 «Longbow» block III. L’appareil dispose également d’une capacité en réseau permettant une connectivité avec l’ensemble des moyens aériens et terrestre. Question maintenance, les systèmes permettent une diminution des charges notamment en engagement.
Taiwan thinking of building its own submarines
Taiwan is evaluating the feasibility of building submarines on its own with technical assistance from the United States, according to a local newspaper.
The U.S. government approved the sale of eight diesel-powered submarines to Taiwan in 2001, but no progress has been made on the project since then.
Frustrated by the country's inability to procure submarines, Taiwan's military has gradually changed its attitude from "waiting for U.S. approval" to considering building submarines on its own with U.S. technological support, the United Daily News (UDN) said in a special report Monday.
The shift became even more evident after Yen Ming became defense minister and Adm. Chen Yung-kang took over the helm of the Navy Command Headquarters, according to the paper.
The following are excerpts from the UDN special report on the submarine-related issues:
Both the military and local shipbuilding community are assessing the feasibility of building conventional diesel-powered submarines at home instead of procuring them from the U.S.
A shipbuilding industry association is scheduled to come up with a comprehensive assessment report by June 2014.
Sources familiar with the Navy's submarine procurement project cited several reasons why the potential deal with the United States has remained stalemated.
First, the U.S. asked Taiwan to pay a contract design fee of more than NT$10 billion (US$338.36 million) even before the type of submarine to be sold to Taiwan was determined.
Partisan wrangling over the issue at the time prompted Taiwan's Legislature to balk at making the upfront payment.
A more critical obstacle to progress lies in the U.S. Navy's reluctance to build diesel-electric submarines at a U.S. shipyard because it fears that Congress would ask it to buy the conventional submarines to save money if an American shipyard had the capability to build such a ship.
Acting on the instructions of Defense Minister Yen, the Navy sponsored a closed-door seminar at the Armed Forces Club in Taipei in late November to discuss the feasibility of building submarines in Taiwan.
Adm. Chen chaired the meeting, which was attended by representatives from government agencies as well as academia and the private sector.
All participants reportedly agreed to list "building submarines locally" as an option.
Military and shipbuilding industry executives admitted that Taiwan still cannot build torpedoes, sonar, propulsion systems, combat systems and submarine periscope lenses.
Taiwan also needs to upgrade its blueprint design technology, they said.
Against this backdrop, they said Taiwan should seek U.S. technology transfer in those fields if it wants to build submarines at home.
A model used in Taiwan's building of Ching-kuo indigenous defense fighters (IDFs) in the past could be applied to the submarine building project, they said. U.S.-based General Dynamics had helped with IDF design.
http://focustaiwan.tw/news/atod/2013120 ... PY.twitter