TAIPEI — A 27 percent increase in the number of exhibitors is expected at this year's biennial Taipei Aerospace and Defense Technology Exhibition (TADTE), although the foreign presence will decline, said Alvin Hu, a TADTE media representative.

In total, there will be 126 exhibitors and 694 booths, with foreign representatives from Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Sweden, United Kingdom and the United States at the Aug. 13-16 exhibition.

"This is the only exhibition in Taiwan that integrates civilian and military aerospace equipment and components, as well as national defense weaponry and related equipment in one show," Hu said.

Unmanned vehicles will be in the spotlight this year. For the first time, TADTE will have an Unmanned Area with 12 exhibitors (in comparison to only four in 2013). New product launches will include DWTEK's Investigator 90/Remotely Operated Underwater Robot; Geosat Aerospace Technology's High Accuracy UAV Orthophoto Systems; and Carbon Based Technology's Unmanned Aerial Mapping Systems.

There will be two unmanned vehicle conferences at the show: the Unmanned Aircraft Technology Development and the Latest Application Conference, and Application for UAS and FAA Regulations Conference.

Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) will have its own pavilion and MND's Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology is expected to showcase its Hsiung Feng 3 (Brave Wind) anti-ship cruise missile (dubbed the carrier killer), Tien Kung 3 (Sky Bow) air defense missile system and Tien Chien (Sky Sword) air-to-air defense missile system for the Air Force's Indigenous Defense Fighter aircraft.

There is also growth in other areas of the exhibition. The Chinese Association for General Aviation Development Area has jumped from zero to 14 exhibitors, and the Precision Machine Tool Area from zero to seven. The Taiwan Aerospace Industry Association Area has risen from three to 11.

However, there is a decline in foreign exhibitors. The international presence has dropped from 14fourteen to nine9 since 2013. This year, TADTE lost Boeing, Raytheon and Sikorsky, with only one top-tier company exhibiting — Lockheed Martin.

Despite the lack of a strong US defense industry presence this year, US companies play a major role in Taiwan's defense modernization efforts. Lockheed is upgrading conducting a major upgrade to Taiwan's F-16 fighter fleet aircraft; recent helicopter sales include 30 Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters ($2.53 billion) and 60 Sikorsky UH-60M Black Hawk utility helicopters ($3.1 billion) for the Army Aviation Command; Raytheon is delivering new Patriot PAC-3 and upgrading PAC-2 air defense missiles systems; Northrop Grumman will be providing the active electronically scanned array (the SABR) radars for the F-16 upgrade; and Raytheon continues to offer technical support for Taiwan's early warning radar program.

An announcement by the US is expected in the fourth quarter for the sale of eight to 10 MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine warfare helicopters via the US Foreign Military Sales program to replace aging MD500 "Defender" helicopters.

Lockheed and Raytheon recently sent technical teams to inspect Taiwan's Dutch-built diesel attack submarines for a possible upgrade contract. Both companies are also interested in supplying products for Taiwan's planned Indigenous Defense Submarine build of four-to-eight diesel attack submarines, said a Taiwan defense analyst.

The Army has been stung by an MND decision to table its request for refurbished US-built M-1 Abrams tanks. The Army has requested refurbished M-1s main battle tanks (MBT) for a decade now, according to a US defense industry source. Issues regarding weight and budget issues are described as the main hurdles.

The Army did attempt to reduce criticism of the purchase by changing its selection from the 68-ton M1A2 to the 60-ton M1A1 variant, and with a proposal to replace the turbine engines with diesels to save on fuel and reduce weight. Still, , but these efforts did not stop MND decided to forgo the procurement for the time being.

A common criticism of the tank purchase is related to Taiwan's geography, which consists of a mountainous interior and a low, wetland coastline, and many of Taiwan's bridges are incapable of handling the weight. Taiwan's current tanks are a mix of 50- to 52-ton M-48s and M-60s.

The lack of US exhibitors also reflects is due to continued budget cuts by the US defense industry, according to another US defense industry source. Most deals are done through the Pentagon's Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program office and many of the companies try to keep a low profile in Taiwan due to objections by China, he said.

Companies like Boeing and Sikorsky participate in commercial manufacturing programs and direct commercial sales with China. This is why there are few direct military sales to Taiwan and almost everything is done via FMS, he said.

Email: wminnick@defensenews.com

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