Taiwan’s ‘T-Dome’ vs China: Inside The Island’s New Multi-Layered Missile Shield

Asianet News English

Taiwan is planning to spend around 40 billion dollars on a new multi-layered air defence network called T-Dome, a system often compared to Israel’s Iron Dome but built to counter a much wider range of Chinese threats. From fighter jets and cruise missiles to ballistic missiles and drones, T-Dome will fuse Patriot, Sky Bow and future NASAMS batteries with powerful radars, sensors and command systems to create a single, fast-reacting shield over the island. President Lai Ching-te calls it a 'safety net' for Taiwan, but experts warn that full integration and interceptor production will take years, even as China’s forces can already fire hundreds of missiles at Taiwan within minutes. This video explains what T-Dome is, why Taipei says it is urgent, and how soon it could realistically be ready.  #Taiwan #TDome #AirDefense #ChinaTaiwan #MissileDefense #IronDome #IndoPacific #LaiChingTe #PLA #Geopolitics #World    🔊 LIKE ➡ SHARE ➡ SUBSCRIBE  📰 Breaking news. ⚡Live updates. 🔍 Trusted stories — all in one app. Download the Asianet News App today 👇 🍎 iOS: https://apps.apple.com/in/app/asianet-news-official/id1093450032 🤖 Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.vserv.asianet&hl=en_IN  For More Updates:  Follow us on our What's app Channel: https://whatsapp.com/channel/0029Va5Bq3yKwqSLSQTxam0r  English: https://newsable.asianetnews.com/  Hindi: https://hindi.asianetnews.com/  Malayalam: https://www.asianetnews.com/  Kannada: https://kannada.asianetnews.com/  Tamil: https://tamil.asianetnews.com/  Telugu: https://telugu.asianetnews.com/  Bengali: https://bangla.asianetnews.com/  Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AsianetNewsa...  Follow us on Twitter:  https://twitter.com/AsianetNewsEN  Follow us on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ann.newsable/  ➡ If you like our video, give us a thumbs up and subscribe to our channel to get the daily dosage of news, entertainment, sports and more.

Transcript

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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