20 April 2021

Taiwan still keen on acquiring JASSMs from the US

by Gabriel Dominguez

An official from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on 19 April that Taipei is still keen on acquiring AGM-158-series Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSMs) from the United States.

Li Shih-Chiang, director of the MND’s Department of Strategic Planning, was quoted by the Taiwan News website as saying during a session of the Judiciary and Organic Laws’ parliamentary committee that a request for the sale of the land-attack cruise missile to Taiwan has not yet been approved by the administration of US President Joe Biden.

An AGM-158B JAASM-ER missile. A Taiwanese MND official said on 19 April that Taipei is still seeking to purchase AGM-158-series missiles from the US. (US Department of Defense)

The official emphasised that Taipei will continue to push for a deal on the precision stand-off weapon, adding that communication channels between Taiwan and the US are “open and normal”, according to the website.

Produced by Lockheed Martin, the AGM-158A JASSM has a maximum strike range of 200 n miles (370.4 km), while the AGM-158B JASSM-ER can hit targets at a maximum range of 500 n miles, according to Janes Weapons: Air-Launched. The weapon is designed to “destroy high-value, well-defended, fixed and relocatable targets”, while keeping aircrews “well out of danger from hostile air-defence systems”, according to the manufacturer.

Speaking during the same committee meeting, Defence Minister Chiu Kuo-cheng said that the MND has received no official notification either on whether the US Department of State has approved the sale of M109A6 Paladin 155 mm self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) to Taiwan.

The latest developments come after Janes reported that Raytheon will be awarded a contract covering the transition to production of AGM-154C Block III Joint Standoff Weapons (JSOWs) for foreign customers that include Bahrain and Taiwan.

An official from Taiwan’s Ministry of National Defense (MND) said on 19 April that Taipei is still k...

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