Defense ministry missile procurement program plagued by problems: reportBy Wu Su-wei and Jonathan Chin / Staff reporter, with staff writerA Ministry of National Defense initiative to obtain US-made Harpoon missiles is plagued by cost overruns, poor coordination with contractors and procedural irregularities, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said. A Harpoon Block II anti-ship missile is launched from the USS Stewart in an undated photograph. Instead, the ministry gave the program to the Cabinet days before it was to submit the overall budget report, the report said. Since 2016, 2,588 troops were discharged from military service for failing to meet standards, which is 18.36 percent of all men and women who volunteer, it said. The number of understaffed combat units and the high number of volunteers who left military service after being found to be unfit for service are concerning, it said.

Source: Taipei Times October 31, 2021 03:59 UTC