MND Vice Minister Liao Tieh-ming explained at an Aug. 15 press conference that the ministry's high-profile presence at the event was a way of demonstrating its military achievements, as well as actively promoting the multipurpose applications of technology developed by the nation's aerospace industry.
This year's exhibition attracted 63 international exhibitors, including France's Dassault Aviation, as well as Lockheed Martin Corp. and Raytheon Co. from the United States. With 602 booths set up by local and foreign aviation, naval and land defense technology manufacturers and contractors, the organizers--the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) and Reed Exhibitions--said this represented a 50-percent increase from the last event in 2005.
The MND's pavilion featured exhibits from the nation's Air Force, Army, Navy, Combined Logistics Command, as well as the Chungshan Institute of Science and the Technology and the Manufacturing and Production Center--both under the ministry's Bureau of Armament and Acquisition Armaments.
The major items of interest were two new versions of the Combined Logistics Command's eight-wheeled CM-32 Cloud Leopard--a 105-millimeter low-recoil turret gun and a 40-millimeter grenade launcher turret. The 155-millimeter self-propelled howitzer developed by the 202nd Arsenal under the MPC also attracted considerable attention.
"Compared with previous exhibitions, this year's event is more attractive, because several newly developed weapons were unveiled to the public for the first time," Kevin Cheng, editor-in-chief of the Chinese-language Military Express, a monthly magazine, said Aug. 18.
Advanced weapons, such as the self-propelled howitzer and Cloud Leopard--named after Taiwan's nearly extinct clouded leopard because of its agility and stealth--showed that Taiwan possessed sophisticated capabilities in research and development of ground weaponry.
According to the MPC, the self-propelled howitzer is fitted with a 45-caliber gun that conforms to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's Joint Ballistic Memorandum of Understanding. There are 17 on-board rounds that can be fired at a rate of up to six per minute with ranges in excess of 38 kilometers when fitted with a flick rammer system.
The howitzer's command center is equipped with an advanced on-board fire-control system, which includes a computer, global positioning receiver and inertial navigation system. These special features enable the gun to rapidly engage the target's after receiving the target position, the MPC said.
"Taiwan has a dense road network, which is a suitable tactical environment for self-propelled howitzers on wheels. Therefore, the development of this self-propelled gun by the military meets an essential need," Cheng said.
The self-propelled gun follows a global trend in the development of artillery weapon systems, and several countries, such as France and South Africa, have competed for it. In comparison with a tracked self-propelled artillery system, which carries the same caliber gun, the wheeled model enjoys such advantages as a lower price, lighter weight and ease of maintenance, Chang said.
According to the ORDC, the 40-millimeter grenade launcher turret version of the Cloud Leopard will enter service with Taiwan's Armed Forces at the end of this year. The vehicle is suitable for the nation's special battlefield terrain and combines a capacity for rapid deployment with high survivability and tactical mobility. Fitted with a remote-control weapon station, the crew can operate the carrier's 40-millimeter grenade launcher and 7.62-millimeter machine gun.
"Remote-control weapon stations are widely used by many countries around the world as a weapon system for armored vehicles, so the adoption of this system by our military is in line with the global trend of weapons development," Cheng said.
Vice Admiral Wu Wei-rong, director-general of the MND's Armaments Bureau and the military officer tasked with acquiring the nation's armaments, said at an Aug. 15 press conference that recently, the military has been focusing on boosting cooperation between itself and the civilian sector when developing new weapons systems. "In doing so, this will help with the development of relevant domestic industries," he added.
In keeping with this spirit of cooperation between the military and civvy street, Christa Chao, an official with exhibition co-organizers TAITRA, said the MND awarded US$300 million in deals for the manufacture and repair of about 3,000 military products to civilian contractors at 2007's event.
Another industry to recognize the benefits of exposure to the civilian market is Taiwan's aerospace sector.
Wu Hsin-hua, deputy director-general of the Bureau of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, said that Taiwan's aerospace industry had transformed itself from manufacturing solely military products into a producer of civil aircraft's structural, engine and interior parts. "The production value of this industry reached US$1.26 billion last year and is expected to be US$1.3 billion this year," he added.
The history and transformation of Taichung-based Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. reflects, at least partly, the government's policy of marketplace adaptation for the nation's military contractors as explained by Wu.
The AIDC, previously known as the Aero Industry Development Center, was established in 1969 under the authority of the Taiwanese Air Force before transferring to CSIST control in 1983. Thirteen years later, in support of national aerospace development objectives, the AIDC was transformed from a military establishment into a government-owned company under the authority of the MOEA.
As a market-oriented entity, the AIDC's business strategy has drastically changed from focusing solely on being a military products and services supplier to that of a well-balanced and diversified provider to both military and commercial markets.
Meanwhile, the AIDC said that Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. had placed nearly 100 orders worth more than US$25 million with the company. Bell Helicopter previously contracted the manufacturing of its United States Army AH-1Z and UH-1Y tailbooms to the AIDC in 2004.
"Bell Helicopter of the United States awarded the AIDC a new contract to manufacture parts for nearly 100 helicopters on Aug. 16," Frank Hong, director of the AIDC's Business Management Department, said.
In view of the potentially lucrative military helicopter market in the Asia-Pacific region, and the strength of Taiwan's aerospace industrial sector, Bell Helicopter awarded the contract to the AIDC under the auspices of the MOEA's Industrial Development Bureau for a four-year period expiring in 2008.
"Nevertheless, based on good quality and delivery, Bell Helicopter is going to extend the existing contract from 2008 to 2013," Hong said. He added that Bell Helicopter is also considering handing over production of different sections of the helicopter to the AIDC.
Bell Helicopter and the AIDC have a long history of cooperation in the decades since the two companies co-produced 118 UH-1H's for the Taiwanese Army from 1969 to 1976.
Hong added that the AIDC and Sagem Avionics Inc. of the United States had formed an alliance to tap the digitized glass-cockpit market in the Asia-Pacific region. This decision was based partly on the AIDC's experience in developing the digital glass cockpit for an improved version of the Ching-Kuo Indigenous Defence Fighter, also called the "Goshawk."
The AIDC will provide its experience in digitized glass cockpits while Sagem Avionics Inc. will offer its customizable, comprehensive and affordable display solutions to the partnership, the AIDC said in a statement.
With Taiwan's Army currently debating the purchase of Bell UH-1Y or Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters to replace its fleet of aging UH-1H, or "Huey" helicopters, the AIDC plans to link Bell Helicopter, Sagem and local relevant aerospace companies to offer the most cost-effective option--upgrading the Hueys to the latest TH-1H Huey II standard used by the United States Army.
According to the AIDC, the upgraded UH-1H is seen as not only being a transition helicopter with multipurpose applications in the future, but also a training model for the military's new helicopter purchase.
"The refurbishment program for the UH-1H will include digitized glass cockpits and upgrading of the engine, transmission and rotor system," Hong said. "In addition, there are over 2,000 UH-1H's still in service around the world. Therefore, we estimate the potential value of supplying digitized glass cockpits for the UH-1H refurbishment market to reach into hundreds of millions of U.S. dollars."
Write to Edwin Hsiao at edwinhsiao@mail.gio.gov.tw