Taiwan unveils extended-range Hsiung Feng III missile

A model of the baseline HF-III ASM displayed at the Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE) 2023. (Janes/Kapil Kajal)

Taiwan has deployed its new locally developed land-launched Hsiung Feng III extended-range (HF-IIIER) supersonic anti-ship missile (ASM) at the 41st iteration of its annual ‘Han Kuang' military exercise, state-owned Central News Agency (CNA) has reported.

CNA reported on 15 July that at least four HF-IIIER ASM launchers and a command-and-control (C2) vehicle were deployed during the exercise by the Republic of China Navy's (RoCN's) Haifeng Brigade located in Bali district of Taipei county. ‘Han Kuang', which runs from 9 to 18 July, simulates a Chinese attack on the island's military bases and critical infrastructure.

According to CNA, the HF-IIIER is mounted on a mobile missile launcher featuring two rocket containers for four missiles. The missile has an estimated range of 400 km.

The baseline HF-III represents the third generation of the Hsiung Feng family of ASMs, developed by Taiwan's National Chung Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST). The Hsiung Feng family consists of land-, ship-, and air-launched ASMs. The land-launched variant of HF-III has been in service with the RoCN since 2023.

The HF-IIIER missile procurement is part of Taiwan's TWD240 billion (USD8 billion) ‘special budget', allocated by the Executive Yuan from 2022 to 2026 for the Ministry of National Defense's (MND's) ‘naval and air force capability enhancement programme'.

According to Janes Weapons: Naval , the baseline HF-III is a ramjet-powered missile featuring a highly pointed tangent ogive nose and long constant‐diameter cylindrical body. It features an active radar seeker, and an inertial navigation system (INS)-based guidance system. The missile has a maximum speed of up to Mach 2.3 and a range of 150 km.