Strategic Weapons: July 24, 2001

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Taiwan is reportedly developing its own IRBM (intermediate range ballistic missile), with a range of at least 1000 kilometers, at the Chung Shan Institute. Reportedly, the missile was easy to build but a reliable guidance package has been the main problem. The warhead is "special" but is not a weapon of mass destruction. While this seems to confirm previous reports that Taiwan was reviving the Sky Horse missile program, Taipei continues to deny any ballistic missile development. Work has also been conducted on a subsonic land-attack cruise missile based on the Hsiung Feng anti-ship missile.--Stephen V Cole