Taiwan Defence | Taiwan Strait and Indo-Pacific Defence News

Soldiers in camouflage with rifles run from a dark grey Black Hawk helicopter that has landed on a sandy beach by the sea

Philippine Air Force to get its first Black Hawk flight simulator under Lockheed Martin contract

The deal with the Philippine defence department covers a full flight simulator and a maintenance trainer, so S-70i military helicopter crews can train at home.

TaiwanDefence · 25m ago · 2 min read

Cross-Strait

A man in a dark suit and purple tie waves with his right hand raised from a podium decorated with purple and pink orchids under a large canopy

Cross-Strait

Lai says Taiwan's defence build-up aims to deter war, not provoke, in National Day speech

Taiwan's president tied asymmetric forces, home-grown defence industry and civil resilience to peace, hours after 21 Chinese military aircraft were tracked near the island.

TaiwanDefence · 18h ago · 2 min read

A white Taiwan Coast Guard patrol boat with a dark hull band ploughs through heavy grey swell beside a larger white vessel.

Cross-Strait

Four China Coast Guard ships enter Kinmen restricted waters on eve of Taiwan's National Day

Taiwanese patrol boats shadowed the ships one-on-one and broadcast warnings in rough seas until all four left about two hours later.

TaiwanDefence · 1d ago · 2 min read

Cross-Strait

China sends 19 aircraft on joint combat readiness patrol near Taiwan on eve of National Day

1d ago

Cross-Strait

Taiwan formally confirms retired US general observes Han Kuang drills with Indo-Pacific Command team

1d ago

Navy

A man in a checked shirt and dark vest presses a button on a steel plate-cutting machine as sparks fly inside a large shipyard workshop

Navy

Indian Navy's third next-generation offshore patrol warship, Shreyas, is launched in Kolkata

Garden Reach Shipbuilders has now floated three of its four 3,000-tonne patrol warships in under five months, part of an 11-ship programme for India's navy.

TaiwanDefence · 1h ago · 2 min read

A group of people in white hard hats stand on the black deck of a submarine beside its tall sail, with a harbour and industrial buildings behind them

Navy

Hai Kun sea trials will end only when CSBC reports to legislature, shipbuilder's chairman says

Chen Cheng-hung said finishing the tests would not mean an immediate handover and played down a claim that the prototype submarine cannot hear.

TaiwanDefence · 12h ago · 2 min read

Navy

Japan's defence minister says public sees need to debate nuclear-powered submarines

15h ago

Navy

US reportedly accepts Taiwan's price requests for MH-60R sub-hunting helicopters and C-130Js

1d ago

Analysis & Commentary

All analysis →

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan is adding a fighter wing just as the senior pilots who lead and train it keep leaving

Before a 12 October 2026 hearing, Taiwan's budget shows a fourth straight cut in senior-pilot retention pay as 66 new F-16 Block 70 jets arrive.

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan's new F-16Vs are arriving years before the shelters meant to protect them

As a strategist warned on 9 October 2026 that air base defences are weak, the 26 shelters planned for eastern F-16V bases are not due until 2031.

TaiwanDefence

Taiwan's F-16V fleet faces two more years without its crash-avoidance safety net and its standoff glide bomb

A defence ministry report on 9 October 2026 puts both the Auto GCAS retrofit and AGM-154C deliveries at end-2028, leaving the core fighter fleet short of both.

Army

Paratroopers descend under grey-green T-11 canopies against a blue sky as a C-130 transport aircraft flies away on the left

Army

Taiwan refuses mis-specified US gear in T-11 parachute deal and warns it may file a claim

The defence ministry told lawmakers two of five items in a US sale of new airborne parachutes failed its specifications, pushing full delivery to July 2027.

TaiwanDefence · 17h ago · 3 min read

Army

Career troops paying to quit Taiwan's military early rose more than 20-fold since 2018, lawmaker says

1d ago

Army

Taiwan's first 500 purchased Stinger missiles to start arriving this month after years of delay

1d ago

Army

Taiwan's Volcano minelayers to arrive in a single batch next year as training mines come first

3d ago

Air Force

A dark twin-rotor Chinook helicopter flies against a blue sky with white clouds, a large red, blue and white Republic of China flag hanging beneath it on a long cable

Air Force

Taiwan's National Day air parade sends 15 fighters and 12 helicopters over the Presidential Office

Mirage 2000, IDF and F-16V jets crossed Taipei in goose formations, and Thunder Tiger trainers closed the military display trailing national-flag smoke.

TaiwanDefence · 6h ago · 3 min read

Air Force

Koo says more F-16Vs due this year, denies EW ballast-weight claim

3 Oct 2026

Air Force

National Day full-force air ladder rehearsed over Presidential Office

2 Oct 2026

Air Force

First F-16V Block 70 jets ferry toward Taiwan after Hawaii stop

1 Oct 2026

Industry

Philippine Air Force to get its first Black Hawk flight simulator under Lockheed Martin contract

The deal with the Philippine defence department covers a full flight simulator and a maintenance trainer, so S-70i military helicopter crews can train at home.

TaiwanDefence · 25m ago · 2 min read

Industry

Indo-Pacific

The grey multi-storey US Embassy building in Tokyo with an American flag out front under a clear blue sky

Indo-Pacific

Paparo briefed US envoys, including Taiwan's AIT chief, on PLA moves at Tokyo meeting, report says

Ambassadors to Seoul, Tokyo and Beijing joined the Indo-Pacific commander at the US Embassy in Tokyo before Trump's China trip, a Korean daily says.

TaiwanDefence · 2h ago · 2 min read

Indo-Pacific

Philippine Air Force to get its first Black Hawk flight simulator under Lockheed Martin contract

Top Stories

Indian Navy's third next-generation offshore patrol warship, Shreyas, is launched in Kolkata

Paparo briefed US envoys, including Taiwan's AIT chief, on PLA moves at Tokyo meeting, report says

Japan's air force scrapped reusable rescue helicopter parts worth 58 million yen, auditors say

India's air chief says US has made no formal F-35 offer, Su-57 decision still pending

Taiwan is adding a fighter wing just as the senior pilots who lead and train it keep leaving

Cross-Strait

Lai says Taiwan's defence build-up aims to deter war, not provoke, in National Day speech

Four China Coast Guard ships enter Kinmen restricted waters on eve of Taiwan's National Day

China sends 19 aircraft on joint combat readiness patrol near Taiwan on eve of National Day

Taiwan formally confirms retired US general observes Han Kuang drills with Indo-Pacific Command team

Navy

Indian Navy's third next-generation offshore patrol warship, Shreyas, is launched in Kolkata

Hai Kun sea trials will end only when CSBC reports to legislature, shipbuilder's chairman says

Japan's defence minister says public sees need to debate nuclear-powered submarines

US reportedly accepts Taiwan's price requests for MH-60R sub-hunting helicopters and C-130Js

Analysis & Commentary

Taiwan is adding a fighter wing just as the senior pilots who lead and train it keep leaving

Taiwan's new F-16Vs are arriving years before the shelters meant to protect them

Taiwan's F-16V fleet faces two more years without its crash-avoidance safety net and its standoff glide bomb

Army

Taiwan refuses mis-specified US gear in T-11 parachute deal and warns it may file a claim

Career troops paying to quit Taiwan's military early rose more than 20-fold since 2018, lawmaker says

Taiwan's first 500 purchased Stinger missiles to start arriving this month after years of delay

Taiwan's Volcano minelayers to arrive in a single batch next year as training mines come first

Air Force

Taiwan's National Day air parade sends 15 fighters and 12 helicopters over the Presidential Office

Koo says more F-16Vs due this year, denies EW ballast-weight claim

National Day full-force air ladder rehearsed over Presidential Office

First F-16V Block 70 jets ferry toward Taiwan after Hawaii stop

Industry

Philippine Air Force to get its first Black Hawk flight simulator under Lockheed Martin contract

Pentagon signs up to $6.3bn multi-year deal with Raytheon to restock SM-3 Block IB interceptors

Germany warms to joining GCAP fighter programme as Japan guards its 2035 timeline

US Navy moves to arm B-52 bombers with stealthy LRASM anti-ship missiles

Indo-Pacific

Paparo briefed US envoys, including Taiwan's AIT chief, on PLA moves at Tokyo meeting, report says

Japan's air force scrapped reusable rescue helicopter parts worth 58 million yen, auditors say

India's air chief says US has made no formal F-35 offer, Su-57 decision still pending

US presses Seoul on intelligence standards as North Korea sharing reportedly narrows to missiles