A communications test component for the air-launched version of Taiwan’s indigenous supersonic Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile has been reported as suspected Chinese-made. The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) said it is a passive part with no electronics that has not yet been installed, and that it has asked the supplier to explain.
According to the United Daily News and the Central News Agency (CNA), online outlet Storm Media reported on Oct. 23 that a communications test filter used in the missile’s long-range communication module was made in China. NCSIST responded after CNA sought comment.
광고 문의 · 300×250NCSIST is developing the air-launched Hsiung Feng III under a project code-named Hsiung Chih for the domestically built Indigenous Defense Fighter. The United Daily News reported that an IDF taking off from Chihhang Air Base in Taitung conducted the first verification firing with an inert test round in December 2025, and a live-fire test was completed off Jiupeng in July 2026.
NCSIST: passive part, not yet installed
NCSIST said the filter is a passive cavity-type mechanical component consisting of a metal cavity, resonant structure and connectors. It contains no electronic components and has no transmitting function.
The institute said the part is still undergoing in-house environmental testing and has not been fitted to a communications unit or tested with the aircraft. During testing, one connector was suspected of being Chinese-made, so it asked the supplier to come in and explain, a result of tightened inspections of Chinese-made products, it said.
Reports did not specify the supplier’s name, the timing of the explanation, whether the connector’s origin was confirmed or the contract value. If NCSIST’s account holds, the part was screened out before deployment, but how to control component origins in the defense supply chain is likely to remain a concern in and beyond Taiwan.
