The Republic of China – Taiwan Ministry of National Defense (MND) confirmed on May 13th the debut live-firing of the newly developed Land Sword II or Lujian II air defense missile system. This system has been locally developed and manufactured, further emphasizing the country’s commitment to establishing greater domestic reliance for defense systems.
The Land Sword II is derived from the Sky Sword II or Tien Chien II (TC-2), an air-to-air missile with beyond visual range capabilities developed by the government’s National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST). The baseline Sky Sword II is a medium-range air-to-air missile (AAM) originally developed for and integrated onto Taiwan’s Ching‐Kuo Indigenous Defense Fighter (IDF) aircraft.
The TC-2 features an inertial navigation system, a datalink for mid-course guidance, and active pulse Doppler radar homing for terminal guidance. It boasts an intercept speed of Mach 6. The missile has undergone several improvements since its initial deployment. Notably, the TC-2 has also been adapted as the TC-2N for naval applications, where it is installed on ships in a quad-pack configuration for deck mounting, providing air defense capabilities.
The land-based Land Sword II utilizes this sealed container-launcher pack concept, mounted on the bed of a tactical truck. This configuration provides four ready-to-fire missiles in two twin pods. In its ground-launched role, the missiles reportedly have an effective range of 15 km (9.3 mi) and can engage targets across a full 360 degrees from the launcher. The launcher and missiles are designed to accept and integrate external detection and tracking data. Lujian II launchers have been observed operating in conjunction with the locally developed CS/MPQ-90 Bee Eye passive electronically scanned array (PESA) radar.
According to the MND, the live-firings were conducted at the Jiupeng base by the 43rd and 21st Artillery Commands as part of the ongoing Shen Gong (Divine Bow) Exercise. The three missile launches successfully intercepted and destroyed aerial drone targets, validating the system’s effectiveness against not only aircraft but also cruise missiles and drones. The Army reportedly intends to field around thirty Lujian II systems, organized into three batteries. These missiles will fulfill the short to medium-range engagement requirements necessary for establishing an effective layered defense.
by Stephen W. Miller
