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Naval
Defense News - Taiwan |
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ROC
Navy unveils land based HF-3 supersonic anti-ship cruise missile at
TADTE 2013 show |
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At
TADTE 2013, the Taipei Aerospace & Defense Technology Exhibition,
ROC Navy (Republic of China - Taiwan) unveiled for the first time a
land-based version of the locally designed and produced Hsiung Feng
III (HF-3) supersonic anti-ship cruise missile. The mobile launcher
is a 6 wheeled trailer carrying 4 canisters. Each canister can launch
one HF-3 missile. |
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The mobile launcher is a 6 wheeled trailer carrying 4 canisters.
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The
Hsiung Feng III (standing for "Brave Wind III") is the third
in the Hsiung Feng series of anti-ship missiles developed by the Chungshan
Institute of Science and Technology (CSIST) in Taiwan. The HF-3 missile
uses a ramjet propulsion system, with two boosters for initial acceleration.
Production of the ramjet-powered supersonic anti-ship missile began
in 2007 and it is already deployed onboard ROC Navy Cheng Kung class
and Kang Ding class Frigates. |
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Detailed view of the canisters and the tip of a Hsiung Feng III missile
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No
official figures have ever been released, however the Hsiung Feng III
missile is expected to have a range of 130 Kilometers and is reported
to be capable of reaching speeds of Mach 2. It uses inertial navigation
to reach its target with terminal guidance with active radar. Its active
radar seeker is an evolution of the one fitted in the HF-2 missile.
HF-3 is speculated to be fitted with a large warhead capable to inflict
major damages to large surface combatant ships with a single hit.
By fitting HF-3 on mobile launchers, Taiwan increases its ability in
defending against an amphibious attack. Mobile launchers indeed offer
the combined advantage of being harder to detect (hence harder to be
destroyed) and offer greater tactical flexibility in case of conflict. |
