US technology will support Taiwanese submarine aspirations
After nearly two decades of delay, the Republic of China Navy’s (ROCN) Indigenous Defense Submarine (IDS) programme is on track after the US State Department granted a marketing licence to Taiwan on 5 April. This decision allows two US defence contractors to be involved in the IDS programme.
The licence approves contractor ‘A’ to provide a combat system, and contractor ‘B’, which has a technical assistance agreement, to help integrate all onboard systems.
The IDS is part of the ROCN’s long-term indigenous shipbuilding programme, Project HaiChang, which began in November 2016. Until now, the US government has prohibited any
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