Taiwan is set to buy six reconnaissance pods compatible with F-16 fighter jets from the United States to enhance its long-range aerial surveillance and photography capabilities.
Taiwan’s Central News Agency reported Wednesday (Sept. 2) that Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense has proposed the purchase in its annual budget report for next year. The report has been sent to the Legislative Yuan for consideration.
The procurement plan totals $334 million, with a delivery date of 2024.
In April, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry released aerial photos of the Liaoning, China’s first aircraft carrier, that showed poor quality and blurred images, exposing flaws in the national military’s long-range aerial photography technology, according to Taiwan’s English-language news. However, some experts believe that this is an intentional move by the National Army to prepare public opinion for the procurement of a new reconnaissance pod.
The Taiwan Freedom Times said that the Taiwan Air Force Command said in its budget report that the Air Force F-6 fighters currently use a “phoenix eye” reconnaissance pod, which is difficult to maintain and does not have night surveillance capabilities, so it needs to purchase a new reconnaissance pod with long range, all-sky layer, and day and night surveillance capabilities, as well as instant video transmission capabilities to meet the future operational environment in the Taiwan Strait.
The model of the new reconnaissance pod that the TAF is going to purchase is MS-110, which is a derivative of the DB-110 (long-range tilt-photo) used by the U.S. military and exported to the U.S. market, featuring long range, high resolution, multi-spectrum, and all-weather capabilities. The effective detection distance is 148 kilometers, allowing the camera to capture military movements along part of the Chinese coastline from a safe distance.
The F-6 is the mainstay of Taiwan’s Air Force, which currently has 146 F-16s and has recently ordered 66 advanced F-6V Viper fighters. Last month, Taiwan built a maintenance center for the U.S. fighter jets.
Since Tsai Ing-wen was elected President of Taiwan, relations between Taiwan and China have deteriorated rapidly, and the Chinese Communist Party has sent warships and aircraft to invade Taiwan with significantly greater frequency. In recent months, with the overall deterioration of U.S. relations with China, the U.S. military has significantly increased its military activities in the Taiwan and South China Seas.
Against this backdrop, Taiwan’s relations with the United States, Japan, and Western countries have also been heating up rapidly. The recent visits to Taiwan by senior officials from the United States and the Czech Republic, respectively, have drawn Beijing’s ire. At the same time, the Chinese military has been conducting frequent military exercises to exert pressure on Taiwan.
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