《TAIPEI TIMES》 Military seeks to quadruple ammo stockpile

健康 國際 地方 蒐奇 影音 財經 娛樂 汽車 時尚 體育 3 C 評論 藝文 玩咖 食譜 地產 專區 TAIPEI TIMES 求職

The army’s Thunderbolt-2000 multiple-launch rocket system is fired during military drills in Taichung on June 9. Photo: Ritchie B. Tongo, EPA

DEMAND: The program needs to be accelerated to replenish ammunition depleted during military exercises and drills, which have become more frequent, an official said

By Aaron Tu and Shelley Shan / Staff reporters

The military aims to quadruple its stockpile of combat ammunition from 30 days to 120 days under a six-year, NT$27.59 billion （US$868.16 million） procurement program to bolster its ability to sustain operations in a blockade, according to the Ministry of National Defense’s budget proposal for next year.

The ministry allocated NT$7.3 billion for the ammunition replenishment program after the Executive Yuan approved it on Sept. 3.

The ministry is expected to allocate the same amount to the program next year.

Department of Strategic Planning Director Lieutenant General Huang Wen-chi （黃文?） earlier this month said the program must be accelerated to replenish ammunition depleted during military exercises and drills, which have become more frequent in the past few years.

The defense budget documents for next year that the ministry submitted to the legislature showed that it is not a single-year procurement, but a six-year program.

In a special briefing at the legislature in March, the ministry said that before newly built and expanded domestic defense production lines are fully operational, the military plans to prioritize one-off purchases of 120mm and 105mm tank rounds, 30mm cannon rounds, 155mm howitzer propellant charges and high-energy explosives to replenish wartime stockpiles and meet the heavy ammunition consumption expected during high-intensity combat.

The ministry previously included ammunition procurement, as well as the construction and expansion of domestic defense production lines, in the Executive Yuan’s Special Act for Strengthening Defense Resilience and Asymmetric Capabilities （強化防衛韌性及不對稱戰力計畫採購特別條例）, which provides for an eight-year special defense budget of NT$1.25 trillion.

The purpose was to replenish the ammunition stockpile and increase the domestic production capacity for ammunition.

However, the legislature capped the special defense budget at NT$780 billion, prioritizing the procurement of US military weapons while excluding funding for general-purpose ammunition purchases and the construction or expansion of arms production lines.

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