TAIPEI, Taiwan — The United States is set to approve the sale of Mk-48 heavyweight torpedoes for Taiwan after many years of delay, said a Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (MND) official.
The Advanced Capability torpedo will be outfitted on Taiwan’s two remaining combat attack submarines after they undergo a life extension program upgrade.
Taiwan procured two Dutch-built Sea Dragon-class (Zwaardvis Mk 2) submarines in the late 1980s. The recent $200 million procurement of 32 UGM-84L Sub-launched Harpoon Block II anti-ship missiles will also give the Dutch-built submarines a bigger punch.
Taiwan is also
moving forward with the Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) program to build eight attack submarines. With a total of ten attack submarines armed with Mk-48 torpedoes and additional UGM-84L Harpoons, China will hesitate to invade Taiwan, according to the MND source.
