• By Aaron Tu and Esme Yeh / Staff reporter, with staff writer

Taiwan has signed a NT$24.99 billion (US$761 million) procurement contract with the US for three Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems (NASAMS) to aid air defense capabilities in northern Taiwan, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday.

The contract was signed by the Defense Mission to the US and the American Institute in Taiwan, amounting to nearly NT$24.99 billion with a six-year time limit for contract performance that runs from Jan. 14 through Dec. 31, 2030, the ministry said in a statement published on the Government e-Procurement System yesterday.

The NASAMS would be delivered to Taipei’s Songshan District (松山) and New Taipei City’s Tamsui District (淡水), where they are expected to be deployed, it said.

A composite picture shows Norwegian Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems in an undated photograph.

Photo: screen grab from the Kongsberg Defence and Aerospace Web site

A source, who wished to remain anonymous, said that there is a chance of the first NASAMS being delivered by the end of this year.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) on Oct. 25 last year said that the US Department of State had approved three arms sales to Taiwan, including the NASAMS, an L-band AN/TPS-77 long-range radar system and an S-band AN/TPS-78 long-range radar system, which were initially projected to cost about NT$65.2 billion.

The ministry last month said that contracts for the three arms procurements would be signed and delivered by 2034.

The ministry signed four procurement contracts for NASAMS with the US which cost NT$49.3 billion, much less than the NT$65.2 billion estimated and announced by the US government, the source said.

The actual expenditure could be lower because it depends on raw material prices, production costs, order quantities and competing buyers, the source said.

As the ministry’s budget for NASAMS procurement remains classified for this fiscal year, the actual amount of the procurement would not be unveiled until the classified budget is disclosed next year, they said.

According to the DSCA, the new procurement of three NASAMS also included 123 AIM-120 advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles, which have a range of up to 50km.

The missiles would be deployed in Taipei and New Taipei City to complete the air defense capabilities in that area in addition to the Patriot Advanced Capability-3, Tien Kung (Sky Bow), Lu Chien II (Land Sword II) and AN/TWQ-1 Avenger missile systems.

The use of NASAMS would boost operational flexibility, as they are compatible with the ammunition employed by F-16 aircraft, including AIM-120 missiles and AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder missile