Official outlines plans for Stinger missiles from US
BATCH 1: The military has plans to assign the weapons to the army to defend Taiwan proper, as well as outlying islands and the navy for the Marine Corps, the official said
By Lo Tien-pin and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writer
Taiwan is to receive 500 Stinger missiles and 178 launchers from the US by the end of the year, the first batch under a planned two-stage acquisition totaling 2,621 missiles and 763 launchers, a defense official said yesterday on condition of anonymity.
The portable missiles would play a vital role in the nation’s air defense capabilities, the source said.
The army plans to deploy 2,235 missiles and 657 launchers to defend Taiwan proper and outlying islands, they said, citing military documents.
Soldiers fire a Stinger missile during a drill in July in an undisclosed location.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
The navy is allotted 295 missiles and 85 launchers to arm the Marine Corps and some surface vessels that lack air defense firepower, they said.
An additional 91 missiles and 21 launchers would be issued to the military police assigned to the defense of Taipei and the surrounding region, the source added.
The US has separately delivered a batch of Stinger missiles as part of a defense aid package, the source said, adding that those weapons have been spotted in the hands of military police over the past two years.
Military police have test fired Stinger systems, and used them at drills involving Taipei MRT stations and Wanban Bridge (萬板大橋).
In August, marines fielded a four-ship formation of M109 assault boats armed with Stinger air defense systems and Javelin guided anti-tank missiles in an asymmetric warfare coastal defense drill.
The Stinger missile is battle-tested with a proven record of performance in the Soviet-Afghan War and Russia’s ongoing war with Ukraine.
The Stinger is a fire-and-forget weapon that primarily targets aircraft. Weighing 15.7kg, the system can be carried by a lone infantry soldier to engage aerial targets up to 8,000m away, assuming ideal conditions. Practical range is more typically limited to 4,800m.
The most modern iteration of the Stinger missiles uses a dual-spectrum infrared and ultraviolet seeker module to defeat flares deployed by aircraft as a countermeasure against heat-seeking missiles.
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