Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) has delivered more than 1,000 Hsiung Feng anti-ship missiles to the armed forces over the past five years, aided by new automated facilities and reworked production lines.
According to Liberty Times, the output comes from the Ministry of National Defense’s naval and air combat power special budget, which is set to wrap up by year’s end and it’s being described as a real milestone for the island’s asymmetric deterrence.
Two Funding Tracks, With Panlong Leading the Charge
The program runs on two separate funding tracks. The first, underway since 2022, put roughly NT$35.6 billion into producing existing Hsiung Feng II and III missiles along with mobile launch systems. The second — codenamed “Panlong” and launched in 2023 — channeled about NT$44 billion into developing and mass-producing an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng III. Combined with the Tuo Chiang-class shipbuilding program, these two tracks pushed total output past the 1,000 mark. Once the special budget closes out, the Defense Ministry plans to keep going through regular annual budgets, adding 232 more upgraded missiles down the line.
What’s Behind the Production Numbers
NCSIST’s total annual output across all its missile lines now sits at close to 1,000 units, with the Hsiung Feng family accounting for roughly 200 of those a year. That figure breaks down further: the Hsiung Feng II and its land-attack variant, the Hsiung Feng IIE (also known as the Hsiung Sheng cruise missile), share a production line turning out about 131 units annually, while the supersonic Hsiung Feng III and its extended-range version together add up to around 70 a year.
The Navy’s 12 Tuo Chiang-class vessels are due to be fully operational by the end of 2026. Together with the large volumes of Hsiung Feng II, III, and extended-range III missiles already delivered to the forces, they’ve formed a dense, mutually reinforcing strike network around the island. The missiles themselves are going out to mobile coastal batteries and warships, with the navy, coast guard, and land forces backing each other up.
Coast Guard Vessels are Being Quietly Armed for Wartime
The Coast Guard’s 12 Anping-class patrol vessels essentially the coast guard’s version of the Tuo Chiang are already being retrofitted with missile wiring and modified magazine compartments, backed by a separate NT$3.1 billion budget. In wartime, each of these 12 ships could be rapidly fitted with 16 Hsiung Feng II or III missiles, turning them into small missile destroyers almost overnight. Fully arming all 12 vessels would take 192 missiles — a number already folded into NCSIST’s 1,000-missile production total under the special budget.
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Source:C4Defence–Liberty Times
