By Kris Osborn, President, Center for Military Modernization
Members of Congress and the Pentagon are expressing both hope and gratitude that the 2024 National Defense Authorization act has passed, a development which opens the door for longer-term weapons development, consistent funding and planning and closer-term weapons and technology delivery. There are many critical priorities and areas of emphasis worthy of exploration, yet one perhaps lesser recognized but essential item includes an authorization for the Pentagon to increase its increasingly vital military collaboration with Taiwan.
The legislation addresses both large-scale areas of overall cooperating and training and also specifies a handful of key weapons programs such as the planned delivery of land-based Harpoons to Taiwan. An essay in Taiwan’s Central News Agency says the 2024 NDAA authorizes the US Secretary of Defense to “establish a comprehensive training, advising, and institutional capacity building program for Taiwan’s military.”
A specific, critical part of this cooperation specified in the legislation includes the sale of 400 land-fired Harpoon missiles from the US to Taiwan to begin arriving in 2026. While there has been ongoing cooperation between Taiwan and the US for many years, some of which has included submarine and warship collaboration, these harpoons are “land-fired.” The acquisition of land-fired Harpoons seems quite significant for Taiwan in a tactical and strategic sense, as the largest threat from China would arguably come from an amphibious attack. Taiwan is only 100 miles from mainland China, and China is not only quickly adding a new fleet of Type-075 amphibious assault ships but also regularly practices amphibious warfare drills and combat exercises in the vicinity of Taiwan.
Taiwan is only 100 miles from mainland China, and modern technology enables torpedoes to travel 40km, according to an essay in Naval Forces.
“With advancements in technology, a modern torpedo can destroy a target at a range of 40 km and a speed of about 50 kts. Its destructive power is more than a missile and it can easily differentiate between a target and a decoy,” the Naval forces essay states.
The presence of hundreds of land-fired Torpedoes could prove an impactful deterrent against a potential Chinese amphibious invasion as they could hold surface warships at risk from miles off shore. This is critical in a tactical sense because Taiwan has much better prospects of success stopping a Chinese amphibious assault if it is able to destroy, cripple or at least “slow down” an approaching Chinese force. A key objective would be to prevent PLA attack forces from reaching land on Taiwan before a multi-national coalition of allies and defenders could arrive and intervene to help defend Taiwan. Essentially, time would be critical and any ability to damage, stop or slow down attacking Chinese amphibious ships from miles off shore could prevent PLA attackers from “landing.” Taiwan of course has land-based defenses as well, including Abrams tanks, yet should China somehow succeed in annexing Taiwan quickly before US and allied defenders could intervene, it could be quite difficult for a coalition of Taiwan supporters to “extricate” an occupying Chinese force. Such a possibility does not seem altogether impossible, yet it seems clearly to be something Taiwan and the US would want to avoid. Should the US Navy get amphib or carrier-launched F-35s operating in the airspace above a PLA amphibious assault, it seems China will have a very difficult time advancing its amphibious attack or landing.
Kris Osborn is President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.
