TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwanese-developed Sky Bow III surface-to-air missile boasts of a nose cone which can resist temperatures of more than 1,000 degrees, provoking interest from overseas arm buyers, reports said Wednesday (November 27).
The military have been stationing the missiles, manufactured by the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), in Taitung County on the island’s southeast coast.
It wasn’t until 1984 that Taiwan managed to gain the cooperation of missile producer Raytheon of the United States to turn its attention to an older type of missile for study, the United Daily News reported.
NCSIST experts received the opportunity to travel to the U.S. and study the technology, though they were not allowed to ask questions and came to the conclusion that many of the missiles were old and had been damaged while in storage.
Nevertheless, their study eventually led to the domestic development and production of missiles such as the Sky Bow series. The newest version, developed in 2017, uses materials including ceramics and fibers which help with the effectiveness of the radar and missile guidance systems, the report said.
Its domestically developed technology has reached an internationally acceptable level, attracting interest from overseas parties, according to the United Daily News.