Taiwan to boost air defense

Taiwan will spend millions to boost its defenses against China’s air strikes. Besides commissioning a ballistic missile defense shield next year, work will start on building new runways and erecting an electronic safety net.

The long-range ultra-high-frequency early warning radar will give the island seven minutes to react when a missile is launched from China.

Another project will add three additional runways on the east coast to increase the number to six. Hualien, Taitung and Sungshan airbase will each get an extra runway. These bases will also be defended by two extra batteries of I-HAWK missile system. Taiwan will also invest more money on repairing runways rapidly.

The electronic safety net aims to prolong the life of early warning radars during an attack by making it more difficult for anti-radiation missiles and precision weapons to hit their intended targets.