Taiwan has won tentative agreement from the USA to sell Raytheon AIM-120 AMRAAM medium-range air-to-air missiles to arm the Republic of China Air Force (RoCAF).
According to the air force's Weaponry Acquisition Office, the USA has agreed to integrate AIM-120 software into Taiwan's Lockheed Martin F-16A/B fleet. This grants Taiwan "an admission ticket to enter the realm of the sophisticated missile system", says Shen Yuan-tai, deputy chief executive of the Weaponry Acquisition Office.
He says the RoCAF expects to install the software "in the not-too-distant future" as a step toward adding the AIM-120 to its arsenal. To date, the RoCAF has fielded two active, medium range air-to-air missiles - the Matra BAe Dynamics Mica and the indigenous Chung Shan Institute Sky Sword II - but neither has been integrated onto the RoCAF's 145 Block 20 F-16s.
The US clearance has come amid reports that Russia is planning to sell modified Vympel R-77/RUU-AE (AA-12 Adder) missiles to mainland China within a year. No contract has been signed on this deal, which is understood to be part of China's procurement programme for Sukhoi Su-30MKK fighters.
Until now, the USA has withheld AMRAAM exports to Taiwan to avoid antagonising Beijing, which considers Taiwan a renegade province.
Source: Flight International
