U.S. defense manufacturer Raytheon Company said Wednesday that it has been awarded contracts worth a total of US$1.1 billion to produce new Patriot Air and Missile Defense System for Taiwan.
The awards cover ground-system hardware through an initial contract valued at US$965.6 million and an initial spares contract valued at US$134.4 million, the company said in a statement.
It said the new Patriot fire units will feature
improved man-machine interface and reduced life-cycle costs and will be
produced in Massachusetts, Texas and Alabama.
The items are part
of an arms sale package approved by the administration of former U.S.
President George W. Bush in late 2008.
Photo : air-and-space
In addition to 330
advanced capability Patriot (PAC-3) missiles, the deal also includes 30
Apache attack helicopters, 32 Harpoon submarine-launched missiles, 182
guided Javelin missile rounds and four E-2T anti-submarine plane system upgrades.
Taiwan E-2T (Photo : gio.gov.tw)
E-2T anti-submarine Photo : FAS.ORG
There have also been reports in Taiwan that the
administration of President Barack Obama might soon announce more arms
sales to Taiwan.
Asked about the issue in a regular press
briefing, Taiwan's deputy representative to the United States, Tung
Kuo-yu, said he could not confirm the reports.
However, Tung
said he understands that inter-agency discussions are still going on
within the Obama administration on whether to sell more weapons to
Taiwan.
Tan Chih-lung, director-general of the Defense Mission
of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United
States, said Washington has always kept its arms sales to Taiwan highly
confidential and usually does not disclose related information until a
couple of days before they are formally announced, mainly to prevent
possible protests or interference from China. (Original News)
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