Taiwan’s leader proposes missile shield like Israel’s Iron Dome. Will it work?

Taiwanese leader William Lai Ching-te wants the island to build a “T-Dome” missile shield – modelled after Israel’s Iron Dome. But his proposal has sparked debate over feasibility, given Taiwan’s disparate missile systems.

Lai unveiled his “T-Dome” plan during a Double Tenth Day address marking the 114th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China – Taiwan’s official title.

He described it as a “multilayered air defence network” to protect critical infrastructure and population centres from potential missile and drone attacks by Beijing.

Apparently borrowing from Israel’s Iron Dome and America’s proposed “Golden Dome” anti-missile systems, but offering few technical details, Lai pledged to speed up the T-Dome’s development with bigger defence spending and advanced technologies including artificial intelligence (AI).

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The announcement caught Taiwan’s defence establishment by surprise. The Taiwanese defence ministry’s latest National Defence Report, released just a day before Lai’s speech on October 10, made no mention of a T-Dome. Next year’s government budget also includes no allocation for such a project.

Analysts said the proposal underscored Lai’s determination to demonstrate loyalty to Washington’s strategic agenda – but whether the idea was workable for Taiwan remained to be seen.

South China Morning Post