Taiwan reportedly plans first weapons purchases for T-Dome to counter China

TAIPEI – Taiwan reportedly plans to buy its first weapons for a major air defence system announced less than two months ago, underscoring Taipei’s urgency to get the programme online as China escalates its military intimidation.

The Defence Ministry is working with the de facto US embassy to acquire Northrop Grumman Corp’s Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) so it can link domestically made weapons to it, the Taipei-based United Daily News (UDN) reported on Dec 1, without saying where it got the information.

The IBCS connects sensors and weapons into one platform that allows for quickly targeting and attacking threats.

The procurement will also include more Patriot PAC-3 systems and upgrades to Taiwan’s existing Patriot batteries, according to UDN.

When reporters asked Taiwan’s Defence Minister Wellington Koo about the reported arms purchase in Taipei, he said he would not comment yet on “specific cases”. The American Institute in Taiwan said it does not comment on weapons sales until the American Congress has been notified.

Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te said in October that Taiwan would speed up building a system known as T-Dome to protect the self-run democracy from aerial attacks, a move that pushed forward his campaign to better deter China from any invasion.

The T-Dome programme would provide “multi-layered defence, high-level detection and effective interception”, he said at the time. His government has provided few details about T-Dome. 

Beijing has ramped up its military intimidation of the archipelago in recent years, especially since Mr Lai took office in 2024.

China sees Taiwan as lost territory that must be brought under its control, by force if necessary – a stance Taipei firmly rejects. The US is Taiwan’s main military backer and regularly sells weaponry to the archipelago for its defence.  

Last week, Mr Lai said Taiwan plans to

spend an extra US$40 billion (S$52 billion) on its defences

via a supplementary military budget. The money for the weapons bought from the US for T-Dome will be partly funded by that budget, the UDN report said. BLOOMBERG