House Foreign Affairs Comm Hearing on Arms Sale to TW

choi

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William Lowther, Congress told Taiwan needs aircraft. Taipei Times, Jan 21, 2011 (available now).
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/01/21/2003494042

Quote:

"Republican Representative David Rivera [of Florida] described Taiwan as 'a bastion of democracy surrounded by a fortress of tyranny.'

Larry "Wortzel said the big question was whether to sell Taipei F-16C/D aircraft, which have a long range and could be used for deep strikes inside China 'if their [Taiwan’s] military chose to do that' or modernize the existing F-16A/B aircraft that Taiwan already possesses. * * * with the addition of brand new avionics, radar and targeting equipment, the A/Bs could be converted into 'very capable aircraft.'

"Representative Gerry Connolly, a Democrat [from Virginia], asked if there was any reason to believe that Taiwan was not capable of defending itself in case of an invasion. 'I don’t think that is the issue,' Wortzel said. 'The issue is how capable would they be in doing it.'


-------------------------------------Separately
(1) J Michael Cole, MR HU GOES TO WASHINGTON: Taiwan likely to hold second set of missile tests. Taipei Times, Jan 21, 2011 (available now).
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2011/01/21/2003494055
("Among those that failed were the indigenous Tien Chien II “Sky Arrow” (TC-II) and French-made Mica — both air-to-air missiles — as well as the US-made surface-to-air Sparrow [AIM 7]")

Note: MICA (missile)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MICA_(missile)
(Missile d’interception et de combat aérien, “Interception and Aerial Combat Missile”)

(i) Compare
mica 雲母
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mica
(silicate; The highly perfect cleavage, which is the most prominent characteristic of mica, is explained by the hexagonal sheet-like arrangement of its atoms)

(2) John Cummings, Army nanosatellite completes first flight. US ARmy, Jan 18, 2011.
http://www.army.mil/-news/2011/01/14/50426-army-nanosatellite-completes-first-flight/

My comment:
(a) United States Space and Missile Defense Command
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Space_and_Missile_Defense_Command
(Headquarters in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama)

(i) Huntsville, Alabama
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Huntsville,_Alabama
(city; John Hunt first settled in the location in 1805; home to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command [both] nearby at the Redstone Arsenal)

(b) Falcon 9 is the first successful launch of a space rocket by a private company.
(c) unattended ground sensors
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unattended_Ground_Sensors
(d) Some Chinese boast of destroying US satellites with missiles at the beginning of a war with US, citing China's January 2007 anti-satellite test. But it is impossible to shoot a microsatellite, which can swarm in space (too many to shoot, that is).  

(2) Nathan Hodge, China’s J-20 Fighter: Stealthy or Just Stealthy-Looking?  Wall Street Journal, Jan 19, 2011 (blog).
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2011/01/19/chinas-j-20-fighter-stealthy-or-just-stealthy-looking/

My comment: The comment about cannards echoes the dismissal of Taiwan at first sights of photos.

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