Taiwan has just unveiled one of its secretive cruise missiles, part of a long-range arsenal that ensures conventional deterrence and counterstrike capabilities in the event of a Chinese invasion.
This month, The Warzone reported that Taiwan’s United News Daily (UDN) published photos showing an alleged nighttime launch of the Hsiung Feng IIE (HF-2E) from the Jiupeng military base in Pingtung County at the island’s southern end. The report notes that the HF-2E missile was understood to have flown for many hours.
The Warzone notes that another Taiwanese media outlet, the semi-official Central News Agency (CNA), corroborated UDN’s report by citing an unnamed military source who said that the Taiwanese Air Force fired a classified missile on August 16 as part of an ongoing three-day live fire drill.
The Warzone report further states that while it is unconfirmed that an HF-2E was launched from Jiupeng, the base is a known missile test facility and hub for Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), a top research institute understood to be responsible for the HF-2E’s development.
Taiwan has previously tested the HF-2E cruise missile and other long-range weapons. In February 2023, Asia Times reported that the NCSIST successfully tested a possibly extended-range version of the HF-2E land-attack cruise missile from the same location.
The missile reportedly demonstrated impressive capabilities by flying 300 kilometers from north to south and 180 kilometers from east to west at 30 kilometers. With a reported range of 1,200 kilometers, the HF-2E can effectively target China’s east coast and central regions, including Qingdao and Wuhan. However, the NCSIST did not provide details about the type of missile involved in the test.
According to Missile Threat, the HF-2E cruise missile program was initiated in 2001 to enable Taiwan to launch attacks on targets in mainland China that were previously out of reach. The source notes that, before the development of this missile, Taiwanese missiles had limited capabilities and were only able to hit coastal areas.
It says that with the extended range of the HF-2E, the Taiwanese military can target critical People’s Liberation Army (PLA) installations such as radar, missile sites, airfields and surveillance and reconnaissance assets.
Missile Threat also notes that the HF-2E missile shares many similarities with the US-made BGM-109 Tomahawk cruise missile. The source says the missile underwent successful testing in June 2005 and again in October 2007, with an extended-range version tested in January 2008, demonstrating a range of 800 kilometers.
Additionally, Missile Threat says the HF-2 extended-range variant completed its first production phase in 2018, with 100 missiles produced for US$440 million.
Missile Threat says that the HF-2E measures 6 meters in length and 0.5 meters in body diameter, with a launch weight of 980 kilograms. It says the missile carries a single warhead weighing approximately 200 kilograms and has a range of 600 kilometers.
However, a 2017 US National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC) report cites a missile range of just 300 kilometers.
Missile Threat notes that the missile’s propulsion system consists of a solid-fueled booster and a liquid-fueled turbojet engine. In addition, the source says its guidance system utilizes an inertial navigation system (INS), GPS and terrain-matching technology to improve accuracy to 15 meters Circular Error Probable (CEP).
Given Taiwan’s vulnerability to naval blockades, the self-governing island has taken steps to build up its long-range missile arsenal indigenously. Taiwan would likely be blockaded if China attempted reunification by force, hindering the US and allies of resupplying the island with advanced munitions like cruise and anti-ship missiles.
In March 2022, Asia Times reported that NCSIST has plans to build 34 additional facilities to augment the production capacity of four specific missile types: the Tien Kung surface-to-air missile, the Tien Chien air-to-air missile, the Wan Chien air-launched cruise missile and the Hsiung Feng anti-ship missile.
Taiwan’s objective through this initiative is to increase its annual missile production rate from 207 to 497 units, with the peak of production anticipated in 2023. The NCSIST has invested $249 million since 2018 to upgrade 80 missile-related facilities.
Fifty of these facilities have already been completed, while the remaining facilities were set for completion by June 2022. However, Asia Times could not independently confirm if all the facilities were upgraded on schedule.
Those projects underscore Taiwan’s long-running efforts to develop long-range strike capabilities to shift the military balance in the Taiwan Strait in its favor and deter a potential Chinese invasion.
In December 2022, Asia Times reported on Taiwan’s long-range missile projects, which include the Yung Feng supersonic cruise missile, the HF-2E cruise missile and the Ba Dan ballistic missile.
Yung Feng’s development was initiated following the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis. Despite lacking a formal declaration of its entry into service, the missile was deemed operational in 2014. In August 2019, the first batch of 20 missiles and ten mobile launchers were introduced.
The missile’s primary targets are located in northern and central China. Flight testing was executed without the involvement of external parties and was concealed within other missile development programs.
Despite a problematic development process that resulted in five failed flight tests and the program’s near cancelation in 2004, the HF-2E missile is available in two variations.
The first variant has a range of 500 kilometers and can hit Shanghai, while the second has a 1,000-kilometer range and can reach Beijing. Taiwan is also preparing to produce improved HF-2E missiles with a 1,200-kilometer range.
Taiwan also had a secret project to develop the Ba Dan ballistic missile, which was successfully tested, but the US prevented and blocked the ballistic missile project’s further development.
Taiwan could move away from its defensive “porcupine strategy” and adopt an offensive “pit viper strategy” by developing projects like the HF-2E missile. The pit viper strategy would involve targeted missile strikes on critical Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai in response to any conflict.
In response to these developments, China appears to have adjusted its Taiwan strategy. This month, Asia Times reported a significant increase in China’s military drills simulating a Taiwan blockade on the island’s eastern flank since then-US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit last August.
Before Pelosi’s visit, Chinese ships and planes were primarily active in the Western Pacific, specifically in the Philippine Sea east of Taiwan.
However, since that controversial visit, China has increasingly deployed its aircraft carriers and drones west of Taiwan, raising the possibility that Taiwan’s strategy of relying on its mountainous eastern flank as a redoubt against a Chinese invasion across the Taiwan Strait may be outdated.