The U.S. will buy back 100 launchers of HAWK medium-range surface to air missiles (SAMs) that Taiwan had previously bought from the U.S., the China Times reported on Friday. The U.S. will then donate these launchers and Taiwan’s stockpile of HAWK missiles to Ukraine to use in its conflict with Russia. Taiwan decommissioned the missiles in June of this year and is replacing them with more of its locally-made Tien Kung III (天弓三; Sky Bow III) SAMs, which it is already fielding next to its U.S.-made Patriot PAC-3, Patriot PAC-2 and Stinger SAMs.
One hundred MIM-23 HAWK launchers and their accompanying missiles will go a long way toward fixing Ukraine’s looming air-defense crisis. The country has come perilously close to exhausting its limited stock of Russian-made S-300 and Buk SAMs. With a length of just over 5 meters, a width of 37 centimeters, and a wingspan of 1.19 meters, the bulky HAWK is a lot larger than the man-portable FIM-92 Stinger that Ukraine has fielded since the Russia-Ukraine war started — the highly mobile Stinger being a very slender weapon with a length of only 1.52 meters and a width of only 7 centimeters. But the HAWK has a kill range of 48 kilometers, compared to the Stinger’s 5 kilometers, so it is a lot more effective at intercepting high-flying targets over long distances.
Each of the hundred HAWK launchers hold three “naked” missiles, meaning they are not deployed in launch canisters like more modern SAMs such as the Patriot and Taiwan’s Tien Kung III (TK-3). The missile homes in on energy from a ground-based radar as it reflects from the airborne target. The dozen or so countries still deploying the HAWK value it for its simplicity, compactness — a single heavylift helicopter can haul a launcher — and upgradability.
To fill the medium-range role of the departing HAWKs, Taiwan has been upgrading its range of Tien Kung missiles, while also increasing the number of these missiles. The original TK-3 missile has a maximum kill altitude of 45 kilometers, but its manufacturer — Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) — has recently successfully tested a variant that can reach up to a height of 70 kilometers. The NCSIST says it is also currently developing an even more impressive variant that can intercept threats at an altitude of 100 kilometers.
Taiwan will keep on producing TK-3 missiles and fielding them next to its TK-1 and TK-2 SAMs, in addition to it’s arsenal of U.S.-made MIM-104 Patriot PAC-2 and PAC-3 missiles and launch systems.
Despite recent difficulties in producing enough weapons to service Taiwan’s arms-acquisition contracts on schedule, the U.S. recently surprised analysts by delivering a new batch of Stinger missiles when a cargo jet made an unannounced delivery of a shipment of such missiles to Taiwan’s main airport late in the night of May 25. These missiles will join Taiwan’s stockpile of 1,800 Stinger missiles to form a formidable defense against low-flying airplanes, missiles and drones.
Large and expensive long-range SAMs like the Patriot and Sky Bow III combine well with the small Stinger, as the former is designed to destroy high-flying threats and the latter is designed to intercept helicopters, airplanes and drones flying at altitudes of under 5.5 kilometers. The strength of the Stinger system is that it is light and small enough to be carried and fired by a single soldier, while the Sky Bow and other long-range missiles are launched from large platforms that are not nearly as easy to hide as a Stinger.
The small size of the Stinger means it can easily be hidden in a basement or behind a tree, only to be quickly picked up and used to destroy fighter jets and helicopters as they dive low to attack ground targets. This means the Stinger has excellent survivability while representing a serious threat to low-flying aircraft, including the ability to destroy troop-transport planes as they come in to land. Taiwan’s landscape of dense forests interspersed with dense apartment-block urban areas multiplies the potency of the Stinger, as both these environments provide excellent cover for small teams of soldiers to hide in and strike from.
Image: 玄史生, CC BY-SA 3.0
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