London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Sep 18, 2025

Part of Taiwan’s most advanced anti-ship missile sent to mainland China for repairs

Part of Taiwan’s most advanced anti-ship missile sent to mainland China for repairs

The Swiss manufacturer Leica has a repair facility in Shandong province and it was sent there after it was returned to the maker for repairs
Taiwan’s top military research unit on Wednesday denied there had been any data leaks after it confirmed that a key component of its most advanced locally developed missile has been sent to mainland China for repairs.

Earlier local media had reported that a theodolite – a precision optical instrument – from the Hsiung Feng III anti-ship missile had been sent to Shandong province for repair.

On Wednesday, the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) said the theodolite had been bought in 2021 from Swiss company Leica and it was sent back to the manufacturer for repair recently.

The agency said the unit’s memory storage cards had been removed before it was sent back and it had asked the agent to send the part to Switzerland.

But after the repaired theodolite was returned, it was found that the unit had been sent to Taiwan from an airport in Shandong.

Leica explained that its maintenance centre for Asia is in the east coast city of Qingdao so it had been sent there for repairs, the NCSIST said.

“The NCSIST immediately ran an information security check on the equipment and made sure no malware had been installed, thus effectively clearing security concerns,” the statement said.

The NCSIST also said that it was discussing measures to make sure that similar sensitive equipment would not be sent to mainland China for maintenance in the future for national security reasons.

A theodolite is a precision optical instrument for measuring angles between designated points.

Following local media reports that the part might contain information such as the locations of missile positions, the NCSIST stressed that the theodolite in question is used to launch the missiles, not for flight control positioning.

The incident underscores the interdependence of economies in a globalised environment.

Taiwan’s Chinese-language Mirror Media Weekly, which broke the story, said that Chinese-made semiconductor chips and parts were used in other NCSIST products, including a surveillance system.

The NCSIST however said no essential components for its other products were sourced from mainland China.

The Hsiung Feng III, or Brave Wind 3, is a supersonic anti-ship cruise missile and has been touted as the island’s best way of deterring an attack from the PLA Navy.

The missile has an operating range of 400km (320 miles) and is believed to be able to reach a maximum range of 1,500km with boosters. It can also attack targets on land.

The Hsiung Feng III was first tested in 1997, and it has been deployed on the Taiwanese navy’s Kang Ding and Cheng Kung-class frigates since 2007.

In 2016, a Hsiung Feng III misfired during a training exercise, hitting a fishing boat about 75km away, killing the captain and injuring its three crew members.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
US Tech Giants Pledge Billions to UK AI Infrastructure Following Starmer's Call
Saudi Arabia cracks down on music ‘lounges’ after conservative backlash
DeepMind and OpenAI Achieve Gold at ‘Coding Olympics’ in AI Milestone
SEC Allows Public Companies to Block Investors from Class-Action Lawsuits
Saudi Arabia Signs ‘Strategic Mutual Defence’ Pact with Pakistan, Marking First Arab State to Gain Indirect Access to Nuclear Strike Capabilities in the Region
Federal Reserve Cuts Rates by Quarter Point and Signals More to Come
Effective and Impressive Generation Z Protest: Images from the Riots in Nepal
European manufacturers against ban on polluting cars: "The industry may collapse"
Sam Altman sells the 'Wedding Estate' in Hawaii for 49 million dollars
Trump: Cancel quarterly company reports and settle for reporting once every six months
Turkish car manufacturer Togg Enters German Market with 5-Star Electric Sedan and SUV to Challenge European EV Brands
US Launches New Pilot Program to Accelerate eVTOL Air Taxi Deployment
Christian Brueckner Released from German Prison after Serving Unrelated Sentence
World’s Longest Direct Flight China Eastern to Launch 29-Hour Shanghai–Buenos Aires Direct Flight via Auckland in December
New OpenAI Study Finds Majority of ChatGPT Use Is Personal, Not Professional
Hong Kong Industry Group Calls for HK$20 Billion Support Fund to Ease Property Market Stress
Joe Biden’s Post-Presidency Speaking Fees Face Weak Demand amid Corporate Reluctance
Charlie Kirk's murder will break the left's hateful cancel tactics
Kash Patel erupts at ‘buffoon’ Sen. Adam Schiff over Russiagate: ‘You are the biggest fraud’
Homeland Security says Emmy speech ‘fanning the flames of hatred’ after Einbinder’s ‘F— ICE’ remark
Charlie Kirk’s Alleged Assassin Tyler Robinson Faces Death Penalty as Charges Formally Announced
Actor, director, environmentalist Robert Redford dies at 89
The conservative right spreads westward: a huge achievement for 'Alternative for Germany' in local elections
JD Vance Says There Is “No Unity” with Those Who Celebrate Charlie Kirk’s Killing, and he is right!
Trump sues the 'New York Times' for an astronomical sum of 15 billion dollars
Florida Hospital Welcomes Its Largest-Ever Baby: Annan, Nearly Fourteen Pounds at Birth
U.S. and Britain Poised to Finalize Over $10 Billion in High-Tech, Nuclear and Defense Deals During Trump State Visit
China Finds Nvidia Violated Antitrust Laws in Mellanox Deal, Deepens Trade Tensions with US
US Air Force Begins Modifications on Qatar-Donated Jet Amid Plans to Use It as Air Force One
Pope Leo Warns of Societal Crisis Over Mega-CEO Pay, Citing Tesla’s Proposed Trillion-Dollar Package
Poland Green-Lights NATO Deployment in Response to Major Russian Drone Incursion
Elon Musk Retakes Lead as World’s Richest After Brief Ellison Surge
U.S. and China Agree on Framework to Shift TikTok to American Ownership
London Daily Podcast: London Massive Pro Democracy Rally, Musk Support, UK Economic Data and Premier League Results Mark Eventful Weekend
This Week in AI: Meta’s Superintelligence Push, xAI’s Ten Billion-Dollar Raise, Genesis AI’s Robotics Ambitions, Microsoft Restructuring, Amazon’s Million-Robot Milestone, and Google’s AlphaGenome Update
Le Pen Tightens the Pressure on Macron as France Edges Toward Political Breakdown
Musk calls for new UK government at huge pro-democracy rally in London, but Britons have been brainwashed to obey instead of fighting for their human rights
Elon Musk responds to post calling for the murder of Erika Kirk, widow of Charlie Kirk: 'Either we fight back or they will kill us'
Czech Republic signs €1.34 billion contract for Leopard 2A8 main battle tanks with delivery from 2028
USA: Office Depot Employees Refused to Print Poster in Memory of Charlie Kirk – and Were Fired
Proposed U.S. Bill Would Allow Civil Suits Against Judges Who Release Repeat Violent Offenders
Penske Media Sues Google Over “AI Overviews,” Claiming It Uses Journalism Without Consent and Destroys Traffic
Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
French Debt Downgrade Piles Pressure on Macron’s New Prime Minister
US and UK Near Tech, Nuclear and Whisky Deals Ahead of Trump Trip
One in Three Europeans Now Uses TikTok, According to the Chinese Tech Giant
Could AI Nursing Robots Help Healthcare Staffing Shortages?
NATO Deploys ‘Eastern Sentry’ After Russian Drones Violate Polish Airspace
Anesthesiologist Left Operation Mid-Surgery to Have Sex with Nurse
Tens of Thousands of Young Chinese Get Up Every Morning and Go to Work Where They Do Nothing
×