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| Chien Lung SS-793 (Wiki Info - Image: Wiki Commons) |
By WENDELL MINNICK
TAIPEI — Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has acknowledged the Navy took delivery last year of long-awaited submarine-launched Harpoon Block II anti-ship cruise missiles, a new complication to any Chinese invasion plans.
The delivery included 32 UGM-84L encapsulated all-up rounds, two UTM-84L exercise missiles and two UTM-84XD certification and training rounds, said Fu Mei, director of the Taiwan Security Analysis Center.
These will be divided between Taiwan’s two Dutch-built diesel-electric attack subs, the 793 Hai Lung (Sea Dragon) and the 794 Hai Hu (Sea Tiger), acquired from the Netherlands in the 1980s. Taiwan also has two World War II-vintage Guppy-class subs used only for training, but sources said neither has been at sea for years.
Though Taiwan has a wide array of anti-ship cruise missiles, including land-based and ship-launched Hsiung Feng 2/3 missiles, and ship-launched and air-launched Harpoons, the submarine-launched Harpoons will give it a greater opportunity to stealthily strike Chinese targets, including land-based coastal targets.
Read the full story at DefenseNews