(Dec 1): Taiwan plans to buy its first weapons for a major air-defence system announced less than two months ago, underscoring Taipei’s urgency to get the programme online as China escalates its military intimidation.
The Defence Ministry is working with the de facto US embassy to acquire Northrop Grumman Corp’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) so it can link domestically made weapons to it, the Taipei-based United Daily News (UDN) reported on Monday, without saying where it got the information. The IBCS connects sensors and weapons into one platform that allows for quickly targeting and attacking threats.
The procurement will also include more Patriot PAC-3 systems and upgrades to Taiwan’s existing Patriot batteries, according to UDN.
When reporters asked Defence Minister Wellington Koo about the reported arms purchase, he said he wouldn’t comment yet on “specific cases”. The American Institute in Taiwan said it does not comment on weapons sales until the US Congress has been notified.
President Lai Ching-te said in October that Taiwan would speed up building a system known as T-Dome to protect the self-run democracy from aerial attacks, a move that pushed forward his campaign to better deter China from any invasion. The T-Dome programme — the subject of chatter in Taiwan’s defence circles for years — would provide “multi-layered defence, high-level detection and effective interception,” Lai said at the time.
His government has provided few details about T-Dome, such as how it will be funded.
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Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of the archipelago in recent years, especially since Lai took office in 2024. China sees Taiwan as lost territory that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary — a stance Taipei firmly rejects. The US is Taiwan’s main military backer and regularly sells it weaponry for its defences.
Last week, Lai said Taiwan plans to spend an extra US$40 billion on its defence via a supplementary military budget. The money for the weapons bought from the US for T-Dome will be partly funded by that budget, UDN reported.
Underscoring the historic nature of the special funding plan, the sum Lai’s government wants exceeds the combined total of the four military-related special budgets approved since Taiwan became a democracy in the 1990s.
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