The Taiwanese Army tested a containerised AGM-114 Hellfire ATGM launcher carrying its sensors on a commercial truck for possible short-range coastal defence.
The new missile launcher from Taiwan, seen in a footage published by the Taiwanese media outlet National Defence Online, makes use of what is abundant to provide an asymmetrical edge in coastal defence and fire support at short ranges.
In the not-so-distant past, Taiwan ordered a large amount of AGM-114 Hellfire missiles from the U.S. to arm its attack helicopters. However, helicopter-only use might lead to the missiles ageing before they can be used. However, it is also possible that NCSIST will come up with a more optimised solution considering the capabilities at hand.
On the other hand, the commercial-grade trucks are widely available in pretty much any industrialised country, which gives a large supply of ready platforms in the event of a conflict.
The containerised module includes at least two launch rails for AGM-114 missiles and a mast carrying a radar and gimbal EO/IR. The presence of a radar and firing at sea strengthens the possibility of this system being intended for use against close-range targets at sea, like small landing craft or patrol boats. As an example, Ukraine successfully utilised the shorter ranged Stugna-P ATGMs against Russia’s patrol boats.
While the footage points at coastal defence use, fire support against ground targets should not be ruled out as long as the target can be remotely laser designated if the launch platform itself can not do it on its own.
Author: Kaan Azman
Editor:Özgür Ekşi
