Taiwan is in the process of constructing 12 new indigenous Tien-Kung III or Sky Bow III (TK III) land-based surface-to-air missile sites by the end of 2026. This development is intended to address the perceived threat posed by China’s ballistic missile systems, as per a Ministry of National Defense (MND) report released on October 20 and echoed by Novia Huang and Joseph Yeh.
The decision to establish these new missile sites is based on recommendations from Taiwan’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST), a prominent military research institution. The NCSIST concluded that the existing TK II missile system, which Taiwan previously employed, was no longer effective against the evolving capabilities of the People’s Liberation Army’s ballistic missile systems. As a result, the MND has opted to modernize its current infrastructure.
According to the MND’s plan, they will upgrade existing MIM-23 HAWK missile system sites and TK II missile sites, transforming them into 12 new missile sites designed to accommodate the advanced TK III land-based surface-to-air missile systems. The report does not specify the total number of existing TK III missile sites in Taiwan.