TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan’s top weapons developer will test fire missiles in south Taiwan likely to be the new Hsiung Sheng cruise missiles able to reach China, reports said Saturday (Feb. 4).

The surface-to-surface missile is an extended-range version of the Hsiung Feng IIE, allowing it to hit targets up to 1,200 kilometers away, including Wuhan deep inside China or Qingdao in Shandong Province north along the coast.

The National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) announced it would fire missiles from the Jiupeng base in Pingtung County on Monday (Feb. 6) and Tuesday (Feb. 7) morning, the Liberty Times reported.

The area where the tests will be conducted also includes the skies east past Green Island to Lanyu (or Orchid) Island, and northeast to Yilan County, covering a north-south distance of 300 km and an east-west distance of 180 km, with a height of up to 30 km.

While the NCSIS did not specify the type of missile involved, observers speculated that the tests would feature the Hsiung Sheng, which started production last year, with an estimated 100 missiles to be completed by 2025.

Defense sources noted increased activity by China’s People Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) in the area recently, with as many as nine ships showing up per day, presumably to collect information about Taiwan’s military activities, the Liberty Times reported.