BOSTON, May 10 (UPI) -- A radar Taiwan will use to track ballistic missiles and other airborne threats passed a recent system design review conducted by the U.S. Air Force.
The two-day review of the technical aspects of the Raytheon-built Surveillance Radar Program (SRP) took place at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts and validates that the overall final design of the system.
Once deployed, the SRP "will enable the Taiwan air force to detect and track long- and short-range tactical ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and other air breathing targets," Raytheon Vice President Pete Franklin said in a news release Wednesday.
The system consists of a UHF phased array radar and a pair of Missile Warning Centers that will be built in Taiwan to serve as an early-warning system against a sneak missile attack by long- and short-range missiles or cruise missiles.
The U.S. Air Force is overseeing the $752 million foreign military sales contract on behalf of Taiwan's air force.
Taiwan's anti-missile defenses consist of mobile Patriot missile batteries deployed primarily around the capital Taipei. Current radar capability primarily is made up of U.S.-supplied PAVE PAWS systems sold to Taiwan during the Clinton administration.
The goal of the SRP program is to eventually supply two radar systems on the island.
