January 13, 2006: Taiwan has developed yet another version of its Hsiung Feng II anti-ship missile. This one is launched from trucks or fixed launchers, has a range of at least 600 kilometers and is intended to go after targets on the Chinese mainland. Only if China attempts to invade Taiwan, of course. Three prototypes have been built, and production may have already begun. Current plans are for 500 of these one ton Hsiung Feng IIE cruise missiles to be put in service. They will probably use GPS guidance and some stealth features, to make them less liable to getting shot down. Using a more efficient engine, range could be extended to 1,000 kilometers or more. The Hsiung Feng IIE is pretty cheap, about $300,000 each, and carries a 500 pound warhead. The Hsiung Feng IIE project has been kept quiet, with few details released officially. Apparently this was done so as to not alarm the Chinese, at least in public.
