Overview
- Taipei-based UDN reported that Taiwan’s defense ministry is working with the de facto US embassy to acquire Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Battle Command System to link domestic weapons, alongside additional Patriot PAC‑3 units and upgrades.
- Defense Minister Wellington Koo declined to discuss specific cases, and the American Institute in Taiwan said it does not comment on arms sales before US Congress is formally notified.
- President Lai Ching‑te has proposed roughly US$40 billion in supplementary defense spending over several years to fund T‑Dome, but the opposition‑led legislature has not approved the plan.
- T‑Dome is envisioned to fuse sensors and command‑and‑control with a layered interceptor network against PLA aircraft, ballistic and cruise missiles, and drones, with goals for higher joint readiness by 2027 and broader deterrent capability by 2033 that analysts say will take time.
- China condemned the initiative as destined to fail, while the United States has publicly supported Taiwan’s rapid acquisition of critical asymmetric capabilities.