Taiwan's air force orders 18 US-built fire trucks to replace ageing airfield crash tenders

Taiwan's air force will get 18 new airfield fire trucks made in the United States under a contract worth NT$997.2 million, about US$30.6 million, according to an award notice the defence ministry posted on the government's electronic procurement system on Thursday 22 October. The trucks, each carrying 3,000 gallons of water, are meant to replace crash rescue vehicles that the service says are getting too old and too hard to keep running.

The ministry's procurement office ran the tender on behalf of the Air Force Command, which is listed as the unit that will carry out the contract. Champion Auto, a Taiwanese company, was the only bidder. Its offer was judged under a scored evaluation rather than on price alone, and it won at a price equal to the published budget. The notice gives 1 October as the award date and lists the United States as the country of origin for all 18 vehicles.

Under the notice, the contract runs from 19 October 2026 to an estimated 31 May 2028, with Rende district in Tainan given as the place of delivery. The ministry classed the purchase as one involving national security and said it was exempt from World Trade Organization procurement rules because it was essential to defence.

The deal took two attempts. The tender was first advertised in October 2025, but a notice on 20 November said it could not be awarded because no qualifying bids had come in. The ministry kept the same case number and relaunched it the next day, with bids opened on 28 November 2025. Almost eleven months then passed before the award was published.

The Liberty Times, which first reported the award, said the air force's budget documents explain why the purchase is needed. Some airfield fire trucks at the service's bases are out of production, stocks of spare parts are shrinking, and many parts can no longer be obtained at all. The trucks have also passed their planned service life, making repairs harder and pushing maintenance spending up every year.

According to the same report, the plan was approved on 26 May 2025 with a total budget of NT$998.84 million spread over 2026 and 2027. Only NT$2.86 million was set aside for this year, with NT$995.98 million due next year, so most of the money depends on the 2027 defence budget. The award came in NT$1.64 million under the approved total.

Neither the notice nor the reports name the make or model of the new trucks. The Liberty Times said Champion Auto had earlier held contracts to maintain the air force's Striker 1500 and Striker 3000 airfield fire trucks. Taiwan News said the trucks now in service are Oshkosh Striker crash rescue vehicles built in Wisconsin, and cited the air force as saying the new fleet would help keep military airfields that support fighter jet operations safe.

Airfield fire trucks are not weapons, but an air base cannot safely fly fighters without rescue vehicles and crews standing by for a crash or an aircraft fire. The Liberty Times said the new trucks are intended to meet the firefighting and flight-safety rescue needs of the air force's combat aircraft. Replacing worn-out trucks that can no longer be properly repaired is therefore a small but practical part of keeping Taiwan's military airfields ready to operate.