00:01Taiwan's government has proposed $40 billion in extra defense spending over several years,
00:08with the focus on developing a multilayered air defense system dubbed T-Dome.
00:14The system will be designed to protect the democratic island
00:17against a potential attack by Chinese fighter jets, missiles or drones.
00:22China claims Taiwan is part of its territory and has threatened to use force to annex it.
00:28Taiwanese President Lai Qingtai has promised to speed up construction of the T-Dome
00:34to create a safety net for Taiwan and counter what he calls China's
00:39intensifying threat to the island and region.
00:43Here is what we know about the T-Dome.
00:48The T-Dome was announced by Lai on October 10th
00:51and has drawn comparisons with Israel's Iron Dome anti-missile system.
00:56But there are key differences.
00:59A Taipei-based security analyst J. Michael Cole said that while the Iron Dome
01:04is designed mainly for short-range weapons, the T-Dome will face a much wider array of threats.
01:11Cole, using the acronym for China's People's Liberation Army, said this is aimed at PLA aircraft,
01:17ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as, increasingly, drones.
01:22Taiwan already has air defense systems, including the US-built Patriot and domestically made SkyBow systems.
01:30And it is waiting to receive national advanced surface-to-air missile system fire units from the United States.
01:37The T-Dome will integrate these with radars, sensors and other advanced technology
01:43to provide what Lai describes as high-level detection and effective interception.
01:48Defense Minister Wellington Ku said,
01:55If you do not integrate these detection devices, then those air defense missiles,
02:00whether for counter-fire, counter-attack or counter-drone purposes,
02:04can't achieve efficient interception or effective fire coordination and allocation.
02:10The T-Dome will have two major components, said Su Tsu Yun,
02:15a military expert at Taipei's Institute for National Defense and Security Research.
02:20Su said it will have a command and control system that collects radar data, identifies threats,
02:27decides which interceptor should fire and coordinates all units so they react within seconds.
02:33The other part will be the interceptor layer, the weapons used to shoot down incoming threats at different altitudes.
02:45Taiwan has learned vital lessons from Ukraine on the importance of having air defense systems
02:50that can protect combat forces, critical infrastructure and civilian buildings.
02:56While Taiwan has been upgrading its military over the past decade
03:00and has spent billions of dollars on US arms, it would be outgunned in a conflict with China.
03:07Su said having the ability to neutralize a sudden Chinese missile strike would help deter Beijing from attacking.
03:15Su said Chinese warships routinely deployed near Taiwan are capable of firing hundreds of missiles
03:22at Taiwan's airports, radar sites and military bases within three minutes.
03:28That does not include the hundreds of missiles China has on land.
03:32Su said this is why Taiwan needs an integrated air defense system capable of responding to these emerging challenges.
03:41But when will it be ready?
03:43That depends on a range of factors, including when the United States can deliver the weapons and technology needed.
03:50Taiwan is already waiting for billions of dollars worth of US arms.
03:55The defense ministry has published a list of items it plans to procure with the new budget,
04:01including precision artillery, long-range precision strike missiles, anti-ballistic and anti-armor missiles and unmanned systems.
04:10The opposition-controlled parliament has not yet approved the budget,
04:15and it is not clear what Taiwan plans to buy from the United States,
04:20but Lai said there would be significant US arms acquisitions.
04:24Lai said Wednesday that Taiwan's military aims to have a high level of joint combat readiness by 2027,
04:33which US officials have previously cited as a possible timeline for a Chinese attack on the island,
04:40and highly resilient and comprehensive deterrent defense capabilities by 2033.
04:46Completing the entire T-Dome architecture before 2027 is impossible, said Su.
04:53Expert also said that system integration and the production of new interceptors, missiles, anti-aircraft guns,
05:00and directed energy weapons will all take time.
05:03Drew Thompson, a senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies at Singapore's Nanyang Technological University,
05:12said readiness does not only depend on deliveries.
05:16Thompson said it really comes down to how you define effectiveness,
05:20how you define readiness and what's included in T-Dome.
05:24Are they counting war reserve munitions? Do they have enough missiles in storage? Are they distributed?
05:30And it also requires the military learning how to operate the systems.
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