Raytheon to upgrade Taiwan long range radar for $412M
Raytheon has clinched a $412 million Taiwan surveillance radar upgrade and maintenance contract.
The US Air Force contract includes “logistics support, engineering services, technical updates, spare parts, and other related elements of logistical and program.”
The work is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.
The contract is part of a $1.1 billion deal the US State Department approved in September, including 60 Harpoon Block II missiles worth $355 million and 100 Sidewinder missiles for $85.6 million.
Long-Range Radar
The US suggested that Taiwan purchase the AN/FPS-115 Precision Acquisition Vehicle Entry Phased Array Warning System radar to track Chinese aerial targets.
The 105-foot (32-meter) radar has a detection range of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles), capable of tracking targets such as ballistic and cruise missiles within 2,000 kilometers (1,243 miles).
Requires Upgrades
Raytheon developed the system in the 1970s to detect especially submarine-launched missiles. Taipei deployed the $1.4 billion system in 2013.
Citing an assistant professor at Tamkang University’s Graduate Institute of International Affairs and Strategic Studies Lin Ying-yu, South China Morning Post wrote that the system requires an upgrade, including “system’s computing speed, the number of targets it could simultaneously track and ability to link with other systems.”
“This would ultimately shorten its response time and boost its accuracy,” Ying-yu told the outlet.
