In November 2005, “Taiwan Orders F-16 Training in USA, But Larger Defense Buys Remain in Limbo” described the gridlock that had hampered key weapons sales of P-3 maritime patrol aircraft, Patriot PAC-3 missiles, and diesel-electric submarines to Taiwan – in some case, since 1997. The opposition KMT party’s flip-flop, and determined stalling tactics, led to all manner of accusations, and eventually created a crisis in US-Taiwan relations. The US began to qualify its assertion that it would defend Taiwan unless Taiwan showed that it would defend itself, and finally refused a Taiwanese request for F-16C/D aircraft.

That seems to have brought things to a head. On Sept 12/07, Taiwan submitted a formal DSCA request for 12 P-3C Orion aircraft that could be worth up to $1.96 billion. On Nov 9/07, it was followed by an official request to upgrade their 3 existing Patriot fire units by adding PAC-3 elements, creating a setup similar to Israel’s ABM-capable PAC-2 GEM+ in a contract worth up to $939 million. These are must-have capabilities when facing a Chinese government that has vowed to take the country by force, and who has spent a great deal of time and effort in recent years building both an extensive submarine fleet and a large array of ballistic missiles.

ROC Seadragon sub
(click to view full)

Word is that the USA has asked Taiwan to hold off on the F-16 request for now to avoid a direct “no,” which implies that a strong lobbying effort from China has a chance of dooming that effort, as it has stalled the much more complicated effort to find a party who is (a) able to make diesel-electric subs; and (b) is willing to sell them to Taiwan. Will these orders help break the F-16 logjam? Can the broader relationship be saved? Those are questions for the future. This Spotlight article will focus on the here-and-now instead, chronicling key developments and purchases as they arise…

Contracts & Key Events

Patriot system
(click for explanation)

Note that DSCA requests do not equate to a contract. Those are separate announcements, and DID has covered several cases where over a year has passed between the two events.

Nov 9/07: The US DSCA announces [PDF] “The Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States” formal request to upgrade and refurbish their 3 existing PATRIOT fire units’ ground support equipment to the latest Army Configuration 3 under a $939 million contract. Raytheon Corporation in Andover, MA will be the prime contractor. Although the purchaser generally requires offsets, at this time, there are no known offset agreements proposed in connection with this potential sale and no additional U.S. Government or contractor representatives will be required.

Obviously, this effort is less helpful than acquiring new Patriot PAC-3 missiles to add to Taiwan’s defense. Instead, they are adding Patriot PAC-3 radar and communications enhancements to Taiwan’s existing Patriot batteries, turning them into a PAC-2 GEM+ type configuration in use by a number of US allies. As DID’s Patriot FOCUS Article notes, the PAC-2 missile is larger than the PAC-3, and uses a fragmentation warhead instead of the PAC-3 missile’s “hit to kill” approach. Patriot’s widely-touted performance during the 1991 Desert Storm operation turned out to be significantly overstated, but when coupled with PAC-3 class radars et. al., it has demonstrated useful capabilities against incoming ballistic missiles. The specific sale includes:

• 2 PATRIOT, MIM-104 (Patriot-As-A-Target)
• Radar Enhancement Phase 3 (REP-3)
• Classification, Discrimination and Identification Phase 3 (CDI-3)
• Remote Launch Communication Enhancement Upgrade (RLCEU)
• An Electric Power Plant.
• 36 AN/VRC-88E SINCGARS EXP Vehicle Short Range Radio Systems
• 32 AN/VRC-90E SINCGARS EXP Vehicle Long Range Radio Systems
• 4 AN/VRC-91E SINCGARS EXP Long Range Radio Systems
• 11 AN/VRC-92E SINCGARS EXP Dual Range Radio Systems

It also includes non-MDE (Military Designated Equipment under US Arms transfer laws) items such as
all necessary modification kits, communication support equipment, tools and test equipment, integration and checkout, spares and repair parts, installation and training, publications and technical documents, U.S. Government and contractor technical assistance, other related elements of logistics and program support, and 4 telemetry kits for its live fire training.

P-3 Orion, armed -
note Sidewinder
(click to view full)

Sept 12/07: The US DSCA announces [PDF] the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States” official request for 12 ‘excess’ P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft, with strong surveillance and anti-submarine capabilities. The estimated cost is $1.96 billion. DSCA adds that:

“This sale is consistent with United States law and policy as expressed in Public Law 96-8. The United States is committed to providing military assistance under the terms of the Taiwan Relations Act. The recipient’s current patrol aircraft are reaching the end of their fatigue and operational service life. To maintain national security it is necessary that recipient replace these fixed-wing aircraft with an airborne operational capability for land-based maritime patrol and reconnaissance, including economic exclusion zone surveillance and protection, command and control, anti-submarine warfare, and anti-surface warfare. The recipient can absorb these additional aircraft into its inventory.

Offset agreements associated with this proposed sale are expected, but they will be defined in negotiations between the purchaser and contractors. Principal contractorsinclude Lockheed Martin of Eagan, MN; Lockheed Martin Aircraft Center of Greenville, SC; Rockwell Collins of Cedar Rapids, IA; Raytheon Company of McKinney, TX, EDO (Condor Systems) of Morgan Hill, Ontario Canada; and L3 Wescam of Ontario, Canada. There may be up to 32 U.S. Government and contractor representatives with varying technical skills and disciplines who will be required, following the delivery of the aircraft, to provide support for 1 year after the last aircraft delivery. The exact request includes:

• 12 ‘excess’ P-3C Orion aircraft with T-56 engines. It is likely that they will begin with ‘boneyard’ stored aircraft that need refurbishing to fly, and significant modifications to be viable for any significant period. Some parties like Norway, for instance, are making their P-3s viable by completely replacing their wings as part of their general overhaul.
• Aircraft activation, aircraft life extension and avionics modification, transportation
• 3 excess TP-3A aircraft (non-operational, to be used as airframe spares) with T-56 engines
• 15 Data Link terminals
• 19 MIDS-LVT Link 16 terminals
• 2 MIDS On-Ship Terminals

Plus a mobile operation command center, Command Control Communications Computer Intelligence Surveillance, Reconnaissance, (C4ISR) network integration, training devices, medical services, support and test equipment, engineering technical services, supply support, operation and maintenance training, ground support C2 facilities, documentation, spare/repair parts, publications, documentation, personnel training, training equipment, contractor technical and logistics personnel services, and other related support elements.

Additional Readings

• Defense News (May 5/07) – Taiwan F-16 Plan Faces Opposition in Washington “To further complicate the problem, the legislature has whittled the procurement deal down by eliminating the PAC-3s and submarines and replacing the package with a study on submarine designs, an upgrade for Taiwan’s current PAC-2s and the 12 P-3s – and still that budget has been delayed by additional political wrangling….” Also: “A very senior U.S. person is blocking the F-16 sale to Taiwan. Even if Taiwan passes the defense budget, it will not affect this decision to block the sale. A State Department rep at the meeting did not want to give any room to negotiate on this issue,” said a U.S defense contractor here.”