Do you know Taiwan’s’Wanzentan’ aimed at China

[김대영 군사평론가]On January 26 (local time), the Taiwanese military revealed to reporters from the Ministry of Defense of Taiwan the IDF Jinguohao fighter units operating at Tainan Air Force Base, prior to the Lunar New Year, the largest holiday in China. This event, which takes place every year before the Lunar New Year, is an event to reveal the Taiwanese military’s strengthened defense capabilities.

The IDF Jinguohao fighter, which was unveiled on this day, was equipped with a Taiwan-developed Wanzentan (萬劍彈). Prior to this, on the 23rd and 24th, more than 20 Chinese aircraft of various types of aircraft invaded the Taiwan Air Defense Identification Zone, which further heightened the crisis between China and Taiwan. The Wanzentan, equipped with a maximum of two IDF Jinguohao fighters, was created to attack Chinese air bases over the Taiwan Strait in case of emergency. The Wansentan, which contains cluster bombs, or jatans, to destroy runways and hangars, has the name of Ten thousand swords.

Wanzentan, which boasts a range of up to 200km or more, was created by the National Institute of Zhongshan Science, Taiwan’s Defense Science Research Institute. According to Taiwanese media reports, Wanzentan was produced from 2015 to last year, and it is known that the budget amounted to 270 billion won. However, detailed mass production quantities are not disclosed. Taiwan-made IDF Jinguohao fighters have operated only domestic air-to-air missiles and no air-to-ground missiles used for ground attacks. According to the Xiangtian plan, the IDF Jinguohao fighter was carried out by AIDC (Aerospace Industrial Development Corporation), or Hanxiang Aviation Industrial Co., Ltd., from 2010 to 2017.

Various avionics equipment including radar was upgraded through performance improvement, and software required for armed operation was also strengthened. In addition, more than 120 IDF Jinguohao fighters with improved performance will have the ability to operate Wanzentan. Prior to the development of Wansentan, Taiwan steadily demanded the US to sell the JSOW, an air-to-ground guided weapon capable of operating on Taiwanese Air Force F-16 fighters. The J-Saw, with a maximum range of 130 km, is a glide-type air-to-ground weapon, guided by GPS and inertial navigation guidance devices, and contains a small or single high-explosive bomb, depending on the type.

However, because it is an offensive weapon, the United States has suspended the sale of J-Saw to Taiwan. As a result, the Taiwanese Army developed its own J-Saw-class domestic weapon, Wanzentan. Wanzentan, equipped with a turbofan engine, is said to have significantly increased accuracy by applying a special guidance method in addition to GPS and inertial navigation guidance systems. In addition, if IDF Jinguohao fighters fire Wanzentan from the middle line of the Taiwan Strait in an emergency, they can attack not only Chinese air bases in Fujian and Guangdong provinces, but also large cities, which is considered a very threatening weapon to China.

Reporter Yang Nak-gyu [email protected]