During the Army's annual precision missile shooting "Shen Gong" exercise in May last year, the Land Sword II air defense system took the lead and fired to engage low-altitude threat targets. (File photo, taken by reporter Chen Yikuan)
[Reporter Luo Tianbin/Reporting from Taipei] Both the Navy and the Army's Sword II missile systems are continuing to be mass-produced and distributed to the troops. Due to the limited testing capabilities of the troops, senior military officials pointed out today that the Army used to entrust the Navy to conduct the testing operations of the Land Sword II missiles, but the Navy will no longer be able to support the Army's "land-launched Tianjian II" anti-aircraft missile testing operations from 2017. In order to avoid gaps in field air defense readiness, the Army decided to break the previous cross-service inspection model and planned to entrust the Chinese Academy of Sciences to invest more than 259 million yuan to comprehensively overhaul and renovate the existing old ammunition depot and build the Army's own Lujian-II missile inspection factory and testing equipment, officially announcing that the Army's air defense logistics is moving toward complete independence.
Looking back at the R&D and testing process of the Lu Jian Er missile, in the early days, the Chinese Academy of Sciences gave priority to the development of the Navy's "Hai Jian Er" system. In order to verify the missile's ignition from the launch box, radar search integration and terminal finder locking capabilities, it relied heavily on the Navy's equipment and ship support for inspection operations. The Navy's Kaohsiung test ship was even used as an offshore inspection platform. However, as the Navy has been vigorously promoting the performance improvement project of the new generation of light frigates and Kangding-class ships in recent years, the demand for the production and inspection of Haijian-2 missiles has shown explosive growth. The Navy's own inspection energy has been saturated just to meet the needs of the fleet, prompting the Army and Navy logistics to be officially diverted in 2017.
The Land Shejian II air defense system camouflaged its position at Wuqi Fishing Port during last year's Hanguang exercise. (provided by readers)
Military officials said that the Army's renovation budget of nearly 260 million yuan this time does not include the purchase of new missiles, but it is a key step in building independent logistics. The funds will be used for the comprehensive renovation of the old facility, the introduction of facilities with precise temperature and humidity control and ammunition safety standards, and the purchase of exclusive testing machines to simulate radar signals, mid-course guidance commands and full-munition circuit testing. In the future, whether it is regular random inspections of Lu Jian-II missiles, functional tests or the life limit correction of the target finder, the Army can independently handle it at its own base at any time. It no longer has to wait in line for the Navy's schedule, which greatly improves the flexibility of the army's replenishment.
On the timeline, this construction project also perfectly aligns with the Army’s upcoming five-year, 3.65 billion yuan Lu Jian-II missile renewal project starting in 2016. The Chinese Academy of Sciences is currently conducting intensive research and modifications on the Lu Jian-2 system. It is expected to significantly shorten the reloading time from almost 30 minutes after firing the missile to less than 10 minutes, and change the launch box to a "universal ammunition box." While the Army was purchasing new specifications and renewal missiles from 2011 to 120, the self-built inspection and testing factory was completed and opened at the same time. Newly produced missiles can be put on line for reception and inspection as soon as they leave the factory. The two projects complement each other.
Officials said that with the first batch of 246 Land Jian-II missiles having been handed over to the three artillery units for combat readiness, this synchronously constructed logistics model will allow the Army's field air defense forces to have complete dominance. In the future, the receipt of new bombs, the life extension and regular renovation of old bombs can all be completed within the Army, becoming the strongest backing for these billion-dollar missile assets. This not only ensures the high accuracy of the mobile field air defense battalion in precision missile shooting, but also symbolizes that Taiwan has taken a step forward of great strategic significance in terms of overall air defense combat capabilities and logistical resilience in asymmetric operations.
