US confirms sale of US$700 mln air defence missile system to Taiwan

TAIPEI: The United States confirmed the sale to Taiwan of an advanced air defence missile system worth almost US$700 million which has been battle-tested in Ukraine, in the second such weapons package for Taipei in a week.

AI Brief

Taiwan to receive three NASAMS air defence systems under a US$2 billion US weapons sale.
Pentagon awards RTX a fixed-price contract with completion expected by February 2031.
Move boosts Taiwan's defences against China, following recent US approval of fighter jet parts sale.

In the Indo-Pacific region, only Australia and Indonesia now operate the system, three of which the United States said last year Taiwan would receive as part of a US$2-billion weapons sale.

The National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile System (NASAMS) medium-range air defence solutions, as they are called, are made by RTX RTX.N, and are a new weapon for Taiwan.

The Pentagon said the company was given a firm fixed-price contract for procurement of the NASAMS units, with work estimated to be completed in February 2031.

"Fiscal 2026 foreign military sales (Taiwan) funds in the amount of US$698,948,760 were obligated," it said in a statement on Monday.

RTX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Used in Ukraine to defend against the Russian invasion, the NASAMS system offers a sharp boost in air defence capabilities that the United States is exporting to Taiwan as demand for it surges.

The U.S. approved the sale of fighter jet and other aircraft parts to Taiwan for US$330 million on Thursday, in the first such deal since President Donald Trump took office in January, prompting thanks from Taipei and anger in Beijing.

The arms sales news comes amid a worsening diplomatic crisis between Beijing and Tokyo over Taiwan, claimed by China as its own territory, although the island's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

On Sunday, Chinese coast guard ships sailed through waters around a group of East China Sea islands controlled by Japan but claimed by China.

Japan said it also scrambled fighter jets on Saturday, after China flew a drone between Taiwan and Japan's westernmost island of Yonaguni.

Asked about the tension on Wednesday, Taiwan Defence Minister Wellington Koo said China should not resort to force to resolve disputes.

"China should abandon its thinking of using force to resolve things," he told reporters.

Taiwan's military is beefing up its armaments to better tackle any attack from China, through efforts such as building its own submarines to defend vital maritime supply lines.

China's military operates around Taiwan on an almost daily basis in what Taipei views as a "grey zone" strategy to test and exhaust Taiwan's forces.

The United States is bound by law to provide Taiwan the means to defend itself, despite a lack of formal diplomatic ties, to the constant anger of Beijing.