Taiwan signs US$340 million deal for reconnaissance pods to allow surveillance of Beijing’s navy

Island will buy six MS-110 reconnaissance pods as well as training and related equipment with an eye towards better surveillance imagery of the PLA

US State Department says sale boosts Taiwan’s capacity to ‘meet current and future threats by providing timely intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance’

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The MS-110 reconnaissance pod is seen at the bottom of the aircraft. Photo: Collins Aerospace

Published: 7:30pm, 28 Jul 2021Updated: 10:35pm, 28 Jul 2021

Taiwan has signed a NT$9.63 billion (US$343 million) deal with the United States to buy six reconnaissance pods and related equipment to allow its air force to greatly increase surveillance over the Chinese navy’s coastal activities as the island shores up its defences against the threat from Beijing.

The deal, revealed by the island’s defence ministry on Wednesday through a government bidding website, was signed by the ministry’s mission stationed in the US and the American Institute in Taiwan, which represents US interests in the absence of formal relations.

According to the contract made public by the ministry, the deal was struck on July 7. The MS-110 reconnaissance pods would be delivered to Hualien in eastern Taiwan where the air force bases its F-16 fighter jet squadron, the contract said.

The MS-110 is a multispectral pod fitted to an aircraft to capture images and intelligence at long range.

In its report to the legislature in September, the air force said it sought to buy the pods from the US to fit its F-16 jets at a proposed cost of NT$9.81 billion for delivery between 2022 and 2029.

The island’s air force has 142 F-16 fighter jets. It has ordered 66 more advanced F-16V “Viper” jets from the US and opened a regional maintenance and repair centre for the warplanes.

Taiwanese media said the poor quality photos of the Chinese battle group Liaoning’s passage in the Taiwan Strait – taken by the island’s military in April last year – prompted the defence ministry to buy the pods.