Part of Taiwan’s most advanced anti-ship missile sent to mainland China for repairs
- The island’s top military research unit said it had determined that no data had been leaked or malware installed on the optical instrument
- The Swiss manufacturer Leica has a repair facility in Shandong province and it was sent there after it was returned to the maker for repairs, Taiwan says
Taiwan’s top military research unit on Wednesday denied there had been any data leaks after it confirmed that a key component of its most advanced locally developed missile has been sent to mainland China for repairs.
Earlier local media had reported that a theodolite – a precision optical instrument – from the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile had been sent to Shandong province for repair.
On Wednesday, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) said the theodolite had been bought in 2021 from Swiss company Leica and it was sent back to the manufacturer for repair recently.
The agency said the unit’s memory storage cards had been removed before it was sent back and it had asked the agent to send the part to Switzerland.
But after the repaired theodolite was returned, it was found that the unit had been sent to Taiwan from an airport in Shandong.