Taiwan to spend another US$16bn on US weapons
Staff Reporter 2012-09-12 11:24 (GMT+8)
F-16C/D Falcons remain Taiwan's priority on its shopping list. (Internet photo)
Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense plans to spend another NT$500 billion (US$16 billion) on arms and military equipment from the United States, our sister newspaper China Times reported on Sept. 11.
The ministry said in its five-year reconstruction plan that increasing the amount of homemade weapons still remains a future priority, but necessary purchases from the United States will still be an option while domestic production output is inadequate to meet demand.
The ministry plans to purchase Patriot III anti-air strike missiles, upgrades for remaining F-16A/B Falcons, Black Hawk helicopters and AH-64 Apache helicopters and P-3C anti-submarine aircraft from the United States within next five to 10 years.
Meanwhile, the military will continue its bid on eight diesel submarines and F-16C/Ds, China Times reported.
