The Taiwanese navy established its FY 2022 budget to purchase the ASW helicopters, and on August 31, the Ministry of National Military (MND) submitted a budget request for defense system procurement to the Yuan Parliament, which was later approved by the Parliament.
According to defense researcher Mei Fu-hsing, the Biden administration has listed some issues that the US considers major goals for Taiwan’s asymmetric warfare capabilities.
Mr. Mei noted that the United States opposed Taiwan’s military expenditure in platform weapon systems during the Defense Review Talks (DRT) in November 2021, claiming that the MH-60R helicopters violate the idea of asymmetric warfare. Taiwanese officials who attended the conference did not disagree.
Mei Fu-hsing also remarked that some Taiwanese NSC and MND senior officials have stated that they agree with the US position and are preventing the navy from issuing a Letter of Request (LOR) to begin the procurement process for MH-60R ASW helicopters, which will replace the aging 500MD/ASW fleet that has been in service for more than 42 years, despite the fact that the budget has already been approved by the Legislative Yuan.
According to LTN, the budget also includes AGM-114 Hellfire missiles and air-launched Mk-54 lightweight anti-submarine torpedoes.
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