The ROC military’s missile units and anti-missile operations will be consolidated into a single air-defense missile command under the General Staff Headquarters, the Ministry of National Defense announced Feb. 13.
The purpose of the move is to shorten the command chain and increase response time so as to ensure the security of Taiwan’s air space, the MND said.
The ministry made the comments following a recent media report in which high-level military officials were quoted as saying that in response to the changing situation in the Taiwan Strait and the military’s defense needs, the main strength of the nation’s air-defense missile arsenal, including Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Tien Kung and Hawk missile batteries, would from Feb. 16 be shifted from the air force’s air-defense artillery command to the MND’s missile command.
After the shift, the 35-mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft artillery system and vehicle-mounted Tien Chien 1 missiles will form the backbone of the air force’s air-defense capabilities, according to the plan.
High-ranking military officials said this marks the first major change in the armed forces’ air and missile defense operations command structure since the start of 2006, when various types of missile battalions under the MND’s missile general headquarters—now the missile command—were shifted to the air force’s air-defense artillery general headquarters, which is now the air-defense artillery command. (SB)